Daily Brain Candy 5: Hydration and Brain Interference

Most likely, you like me, are not drinking enough water. How can you know if you are getting enough? Your brain needs the moisture to properly conduct electricity. Things start to shut down if the difficulty in transferring signals is too great. Tim Galway came up with an amazing formula, which will probably come up often in this blog: P = P1 - I or Performance = Potential - Interference. The impedance in our brains from lack of hydration is a major piece of reducing interference.

My Journey To Increased Hydration

You can see that I started a while back with a Bluetooth scale that talks to an app on my phone. Of course I don't trust the data to be exactly accurate day by day, but when trends are seen, I trust the trend. Ups and downs, hot days and cold days and evenings where I drank alcohol. Days with too much coffee, a diuretic, also negatively effect my hydration.

Water Danger?

It's true that some social groups have harmed and killed people by making them drink many gallons and gallons of water in a 24 hour period. I try to drink 120 Oz. in a minimal day, and up to one full gallon when I'm on court all day on a warm day. Try to drink a gallon of water when your body doesn't feel the need, you may find it very difficult. I'm 180 pounds, so if you are smaller drink less and if you have more weight, drink more.