Habitual fluid intake and hydration influence stress responses 😰

Another PSA to stay hydrated.

Habitual fluid intake and hydration status influence cortisol reactivity to acute psychosocial stress

Study Details

This new study 32 individuals from a national database including…

❌ 16 with habitual low fluid intake (LOW: 1.3 ± 0.4 L/day)

✅ 16 with habitual high fluid intake (HIGH: 4.4 ± 1.2 L/day)

Participants were also comparable for factors relating to stress reactivity 🧠

In pairs (one high + one low) participants completed 7-days of monitored fluid intake 🔍

On day 8, they completed a Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) with hydration status assessed in the days preceding and day of test 📝

Here is what they found ⬇️

Key Findings

The stress test evoked similar increases in state anxiety and heart rate in LOW and HIGH groups 🫀

BUT, post-test salivary cortisol was significantly elevated in the LOW group only 📈

Cortisol reactivity was also significantly greater in LOW (6.2 ± 2.9 nmol/L) vs. HIGH (4.0 ± 1.8 nmol/L) ⚠️

And was associated with hydration status 🥵

Conclusion

Greater stress responses are present in adults with habitual low fluid intake and suboptimal hydration 🚨

This may have significant short term behavioural consequences and long term consequences for health ‼️

Reference

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40803748/

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