What Happens When Your Body Doesn't Get Enough Water?

Low Energy

Even mild dehydration can drain your energy levels. Instead of reaching for the caffeine and coffee, drink a glass of water to help improve your energy to get you through the day.

Water Weight

Not drinking enough water can cause weight gain. When your body becomes dehydrated, it begins to store water to avoid severe dehydration. This excess water retention can add on the pounds.

Lack of Focus

The body is made up of 80 percent water and the brain needs large amount of it to function properly. If the body is even slightly dehydrated from not consuming enough water, your ability to think clearly becomes impaired. By drinking enough water and stay properly hydrated, you automatically improve the functioning of your brain.

Slow Metabolism

Not drinking enough water severely slows down your metabolism, making it even more difficult to lose weight. People who drink at least 6 cups of water or 1.5 liters of water benefit from burning over 17,000 extra calories a day because the metabolism is increased by up to 30 percent.

Frequent Headaches

One of the first signs of dehydration is mild headaches. Instead of taking a pain reliever to rid of your headache, try drinking a glass of water first when you head begins to hurt.

Skin Problems

Water is necessary to keep the skin hydrated. When you are not drinking enough water, your skin will begin to look dull and crack. This can lead to increased wrinkles and fine lines. By skipping out on water on a regular basis, your lips and mouth will also begin to look and feel drier.

Poor Kidney Function

What happens when you don't drink enough water? Your kidneys won't function properly. The kidneys rely on sufficient water to help dilute the blood. Without enough water, they have to work extra to dilute this blood, leading to kidney failure or kidney stones.

Heart Problems

Just like the kidneys, the heart needs water to function properly. Without enough water, the heart also has to work harder to maintain the blood flow through the body, then you can be more prone to fainting. 

Increase Joint Pain

In order to keep the bones from grinding on one another, your body needs to maintain enough water. Water ensures that your joints are well lubricated and able to absorb the shock of the movements you make with each step.

Decrease in Muscle Mass

Drinking enough water before, during and after an intense workout is vital to building muscle mass. Not only does this keep the body hydrated but drinking enough water will also decrease the chances of inflammation or soreness in the muscles.

Remain Sick for Longer

Water helps flush out toxins from the body and your organs need it to filter out waste products. When you are not staying hydrated, the body needs to get this water loss from other sources, like your blood. So, if you don't keep your body properly hydrated, it can't function properly, meaning toxins stay in your body longer which can lead to a wide range of other problems.

Digestive Problems

Heartburn and indigestion are what happens when you don't drink enough water. When you are not properly hydrated, the mucus in the stomach lessens, which causes an increase in stomach acid and lead to many digestive problems. 

Constipation

When you don't supply your body with enough water, the colon will take water from the intestines in the digestion process. When there is a lack of lubrication in the intestines, it becomes harder for stool to pass through the digestive tract, which can lead to constipation.

High Blood Sugar

The body needs water to help break down the sugar in the body, so without enough water, sugar levels can increase. Those who are diabetic can be seriously affected by not drinking enough water.

Increase Chance of Stroke

If you have suffered a stroke, not keeping your body properly hydrated can mean a longer recovery time or make it worse. Keeping the body hydrated will decrease the chances of you suffering from a stroke as well as make the recovery time from a stroke shorter.

Increase Mood Swings

Since water is an important factor to help the brain function properly, it should be no surprise that skipping out on your water intake can increase your chances of being moodier during the day. When the body is dehydrated, it becomes stressed which will become apparent in your behavior and mood.

Decrease in Tear Production

If the body is not getting enough water, you won't be able to produce tears, so the eyes can become more dry and irritable.

You Feel More Hungry

What happens when you don't drink enough water? Your body sends mixed signals that you are feeling hungry when in fact you are thirsty. You may feel more hungry because your body may think it needs food, but this actually only causes more work for the body and adds to the dehydration.

Other Effects

• More difficult to workout

• Erectile dysfunction in men

• Darker urine or urinate less frequently

• Premature aging

• Coma

• Seizures

• Hypovolemic shock