The University of East London researchers believe
that once thirst is relieved, the brain is left to focus on the task in hand.
They carried out an experiment on
34 men and women who completed a number of mental tests twice – once after a
breakfast of just a cereal bar and again after a cereal bar washed down with a
bottle of water.
None had eaten or drunk anything
overnight and all were asked how thirsty they were at the start of the
experiment.
Those who said they weren’t
thirsty were equally quick at the test of reaction time with or without the
water.
But those who were thirsty sped
up after having a drink, making them up to 14 per cent quicker than before, the
journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience reports.
The researchers think the water helped by freeing up the parts of the brain that were busy ‘telling’ the body it was thirsty.
They said: ‘These results are consistent with water consumption freeing up attentional resources that were otherwise occupied with processing the sensations of thirst.’
Researcher Caroline Edmonds said:
‘It is not going to hurt you to have a drink of water when you are working
hard.’ She pointed out that tea and coffee will also help hydrate you.
Dr Edmonds has previously shown
that children who have a drink of water ahead of sitting tests fare up to a
third better.
But water doesn’t always work
wonders. In Dr Edmonds’ latest study, the volunteers did worse at a
particularly complex mental manipulation after drinking it. The reasons for
this were unclear.
Separate research has found that
failing to drink enough water can make your grey matter shrink, making it
harder to think.
British researchers scanned the
brains of teenagers after an hour and a half of cycling.
Some exercised in three layers of
sweat-inducing clothing – including a bin liner worn next to the skin, a hooded
chemical warfare suit and a track suit. Others were much more lightly clad in
shorts and T-shirts.
Those who were wrapped up lost
around 2lb in sweat – and their brain tissue had shrunk away from their skulls.
Just 90 minutes of steady
sweating can shrink the brain as much as a year of ageing.
But after a glass of water or two
the brain quickly returns to normal.
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