No one knows WATER like we do!

Surprisingly as little as half a litre of water shortage can lead to increased levels of a hormone called Cortisol which is a stress hormone.

We're all aware that our bodies are made up of water but just focus on the brain for a minute. Current thinking is that almost 80% of the brain is water and a mere 2% reduction in that water level can begin to cause problems as the brain's makeup changes. Short term memory issues, sometimes called brain fog, will manifest themselves as the start of increasing levels of stress.

Elsewhere in the body the link between water and our stress levels can be similarly problematic. Recent work in medical research maintains that slightly dehydrated key sensors in our body will not functioning effectively when the body becomes dehydrated. This abnormal state leads to the bodies "fight or flight" reflexes being on a constantly raised level of excitement, again further increasing those stress levels. Longer term, chronic dehydration causes many physical problems in the body that will also create chronic stress.

Stress and dehydration are part of the same vicious circle with many different factors impacting each other. A simple example is when you are stressed your heart rate will increases which will increase your breathing rate which in turn means you will be exhaling exhale more water leading to further dehydration.

So, accepting that there is a link between hydration and stress we should point out that keeping correctly hydrated won't make your problems disappear. We wish it was that simple. It will however, put you in better place to deal with your stress and lead to increasing levels of well being.

The key is if, you are thirsty you are already dehydrated and there's no quick fix for this one. It's not about solving the problem by drinking excessive amounts of water today. You need a change of mindset to ensure you correct your levels of hydration and maintain them at the new levels.

So – ask yourself how much water are you drinking? Enough? 'Bout right? Too little?