Can lack of water cause confusion? (2023)

Can not drinking enough water make you confused?

Losing body water can lead to confusion and disorientation and signify severe dehydration. What to do: If you lose focus, try drinking a glass of water. If confusion starts worsening or you become disoriented, seek immediate medical attention.

Losing just 2 percent of the water in your body (mild dehydration), can impair your cognitive performance, attentiveness, short-term memory and may affect decision-making ability. These symptoms, which affect your ability to think, are often collectively described as “brain fog”, a non-medical, colloquial term.

Therefore, if water levels are too low, our brain cells cannot function properly, leading to cognitive problems. The brains of dehydrated adults show signs of increased neuronal activation when performing cognitively engaging tasks, indicating that their brains are working harder than normal to complete the task [1].

Increased confusion and/or a change in usual behavior are the first signs that someone with dementia may be dehydrated. Additional behavior changes associated with inadequate fluid intake include weakness, fatigue, agitation, muscle cramping in the arms and legs, nausea and dizziness.

Drinking water can improve one's brain health by simply increasing blood flow and oxygen to the brain – which, in turn, improves concentration and cognition (supporting memory function) and helps balance moods and emotions, reducing stress and headaches.

Drinking Clean Water Helps Keep Brain Fog Away

From boosting happiness and mood to enhancing concentration, focus, and memory, proper hydration helps us think clearly and feel great.

Well, water helps your brain cells communicate with each other, which is important when you go about your day. Water also clears out toxins and waste that impair brain function. Not to mention, it also carries nutrients to your brain to keep your brain healthy.

Lack of water can lead to dehydration — a condition that occurs when you don't have enough water in your body to carry out normal functions. Even mild dehydration can drain your energy and make you tired.

What are the symptoms of needing water?

How long it takes to recover from dehydration depends on how dehydrated you are. Research shows that you can relieve mild dehydration in about 45 minutes. However, for moderate to severe dehydration, you'll take longer to recover, but this depends on the type and amount of fluids and electrolytes you take.

As much as dehydration impacts your ability to think clearly, it can also make it very difficult to remember things. That's why it's so important to stay hydrated – it actually improves your memory! Various studies have shown that mild-to-moderate levels of dehydration can impair short-term memory.

As a conclusion, dehydration had negative effects on vigor, esteem-related affect, short-term memory, and attention. Rehydration after water supplementation alleviated fatigue and improved TMD, short-term memory, attention, and reaction.

Signs of fatigue, confusion or anger

A study from the University of Connecticut's Human Performance Laboratory found that even mild dehydration can alter a person's mood, energy and ability to think clearly.

Memory and other thinking problems have many possible causes, including depression, an infection, or medication side effects. Sometimes, the problem can be treated, and cognition improves. Other times, the problem is a brain disorder, such as Alzheimer's disease, which cannot be reversed.

Depression, nutritional deficiencies, side-effects from medications and emotional distress can all produce symptoms that can be mistaken as early signs of dementia, such as communication and memory difficulties and behavioural changes.

You'll feel less hungry and may even lose weight. You'll probably experience more comfortable digestion (less heartburn). Bowel movements might be easier and more regular. Your teeth and gums will be healthier and more resilient.

Your body needs more water when you are:

In hot climates. More physically active. Running a fever. Having diarrhea or vomiting.

Is confusion a symptom of dehydration in the elderly?

Sunken eyes, dry mouth, and skin that stays tented when pinched are early signs. Confusion, altered speech, and lightheadedness upon standing may indicate more severe dehydration.

Aim for 2-3 litres of water a day. Add an extra serving of water for every serving of alcoholic or caffeinated beverages you may be having in a day (these types of beverages tend to be dehydrating). However, your specific needs vary based on your physical activity, your lifestyle habits and more.

This can be caused by overworking, lack of sleep, stress, and spending too much time on the computer. On a cellular level, brain fog is believed to be caused by high levels inflammation and changes to hormones that determine your mood, energy and focus.

Rehydrating Your Body

It's recommended to drink at least 64 ounces of water every day. You can also receive the water you need from other beverages, fruits, and vegetables. Drinking coffee and tea in moderation can help contribute to hydration. Caffeine, however, can be extremely dehydrating.

There is considerable evidence that dehydration can negatively impact cognitive abilities. Improved access to drinking water in schools may improve children's ability to learn by improving attention, concentration, and short-term memory.

Thankfully, effects of dehydration on the brain can be reversed by rehydrating the body with fluids and electrolytes. By staying hydrated, we can help keep our brains healthy and efficient.

The biggest difference between the two is that too little water will result in your plant's leaves feeling dry and crispy to the touch while too much water results in soft and limp leaves. Water pressure begins to build in the cells of plant leaves when the roots absorb more water than they can use.

Skimping on water also leads to less blood in your body, which can lower your blood pressure and raise your heart rate. It takes just 15 to 20 minutes for enough water to even things out.

Water. While it likely comes as no surprise, drinking water is most often the best and cheapest way to stay hydrated and rehydrate. Unlike many other beverages, water contains no added sugars or calories, making it ideal to drink throughout the day or specifically when you need to rehydrate, such as after a workout.

How do you know if your brain is dehydrated?

A dehydration-related headache happens when your body doesn't get enough fluids. Even mild dehydration can cause a headache. Usually, other symptoms of dehydration (such as fatigue, dizziness, extreme thirst and dry mouth) appear along with headache pain.

If you aren't properly hydrated, your body won't be able to get enough tryptophan into your brain to convert to serotonin. Dehydration also depletes the levels of other amino acids in your brain, leading to feelings of anxiety, dejection, irritability, and inadequacy.

Dehydration may cause psychotic symptoms

This can result in a state of hyponatremia, which can cause hallucinations or coma, which some may interpret as catatonia, reports MedlinePlus.

“When you're not taking in adequate fluids, it can mess with your body quite a bit and you may end up feeling a little loopy.” Studies have even shown that mild dehydration can cause headaches and decrease cognitive performance, leading to difficulty concentrating and impaired working memory.

Dehydration is both a predisposing and precipitating factor for delirium or acute confusional state (4). Dehydration generally is a predictor of impaired cognitive status, the mechanism for which has been postulated to be due to a reduction of nitric oxide synthase that occurs during aging (5).

As a conclusion, dehydration had negative effects on vigor, esteem-related affect, short-term memory, and attention. Rehydration after water supplementation alleviated fatigue and improved TMD, short-term memory, attention, and reaction.

Even mild dehydration can alter a person's mood, energy level, and ability to think clearly, according to two studies recently conducted at the University of Connecticut's Human Performance Laboratory.

As much as dehydration impacts your ability to think clearly, it can also make it very difficult to remember things. That's why it's so important to stay hydrated – it actually improves your memory! Various studies have shown that mild-to-moderate levels of dehydration can impair short-term memory.

How much water do you need to stay hydrated? As a general rule, you should take one-third of your body weight and drink that number of ounces in fluids. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, aim to drink 50 ounces of water each day.

Drinking water can improve one's brain health by simply increasing blood flow and oxygen to the brain – which, in turn, improves concentration and cognition (supporting memory function) and helps balance moods and emotions, reducing stress and headaches.

Does drinking water help cognitive function?

Studies have shown that increasing levels of hydration have beneficial effects on cognitive function by improving mood, energy, and attention – especially in school children and the elderly.

Brain fog is characterized by confusion, forgetfulness, and a lack of focus and mental clarity. This can be caused by overworking, lack of sleep, stress, and spending too much time on the computer.

Improved brain performance

Adding just a few glasses of water to your daily intake can have a positive effect on cognition, stabilize your emotions, and even combat feelings of anxiety. This is especially important for older adults who are at higher risk for both dehydration and impaired cognitive function.

Lack of sleep, a diet high in ultra-processed foods, and excessive alcohol intake have all been linked to poor memory, difficulty concentrating, depressive symptoms, and other cognitive issues that some people may describe as brain fog ( 44 , 45 , 46 ).