Drinking water is good for our mood, says an American and French study
Drinking a lot is good for the health. Until recently, the interrelationships between the amount of water consumed throughout the day and mood were unknown. That is the conclusion reached by some researchers, American and French, who conducted a study on the subject published in Appetite, a journal dealing with nutrition,. Researchers have scientifically proven how dehydration can negatively affect not only the energy people are able to transmit, but also their mood. The scholars, after evaluating the food and drinks consumed for five consecutive days by 120 healthy women, observed that those who drank larger amounts of water scored better with regard to certain aspects of mood such as tension, confusion and depression.
Nicola Sorrentino, expert of the Sanpellegrino Observatory and professor of Nutritional Hygiene at the University of Pavia explained that “Stress increases the need for circulating fluids, to keep well hydrated d thus help our physical and psychological well-being it is useful to drink water before feeling thirst”. To avoid the risks of dehydration and subsequent mood swings, it is necessary to drink regularly and constantly even if you do not feel thirsty or before you feel it. Water is ideal for maintaining the right level of hydration. According to the latest studies, women should take 2 liters every day and men two and a half liters.
Most of this amount (about 80 percent) is obtained from the fluids taken in. 20 percent through foods (fruits and vegetables). Infusions, centrifuges, juices and herbal teas and in general all sugary drinks should be taken only secondarily.
Already a few years ago, another study had investigated the correlations between fluid intake and mood by examining a volunteer group of 50 people, 25 men and 25 women, with an average age of 23 years, who, every 28 days, underwent various tests and experiments aimed at analyzing their level of dehydration. By inducing, with physical activity or with diuretic pills, mild dehydration, around 5.1 of the body fluid value, they observed reactions on various indicators such as the level of concentration, learning, reasoning, memory and mood of the volunteers, monitoring them both at rest, thus in a hydrated condition, and after half an hour or an hour of exercise, thus in a condition of body fluid deficiency. Reactions in men and women differed: men experienced severe mood swings and memory difficulties, while women experienced fatigue, headaches and difficulty concentrating. Giovanni D’Agata, president of the “Sportello dei Diritti,” reminds that water is the ideal beverage to hydrate.
As well as centrifuges, infusions, juices, as well as fruits and vegetables. In addition, to avoid congestion, the temperature of drinks should not be too low.
