An Alarm System in Your Brain: Hydration’s Role in Calming the Autonomic Nervous System (Part 5)

KAYLE SANDBERG-LEWIS BCN-FELLOW, M.A., LMT

This is part 5 of a 6 part series, from Kayle Sandberg-Lewis, on how our brains have evolved to deal with threats, both real and perceived and how we may feel safer, sleep better, and digest our food more easily.

My first blog post in this series about how you can modulate your stress response described the brainstem as a “meter reader”. It notes levels of vital elements for physiological functioning and sets off alarms when the monitored element goes “out of bounds”. It does this because your brainstem perceives your life to be in danger. Unfortunately, because of the brainstem’s nonverbal nature, it can’t tell you what is out of whack.

You have undoubtedly heard the phrase “water is life.” That is shorthand for “without water, life’s many processes will grind to a desiccated and tragic halt; without enough water, life is at risk of becoming a congested, clogged, muddy mess.” The same holds true for your body – water is vital for good health from cognition, to cardiac function, from renal to respiratory activity, and more.

Without enough pure, clean water, your body simply cannot work efficiently. In fact, lack of water will set off that meter reader in your brainstem and will cause a general sense of anxiety and may wake you in the middle of the night, usually between 1 and 3 am. Most people interpret their awakening as a need to go to the bathroom, but it is not uncommon for these same people to report they void very little urine during their trip(s) to the loo. And generally, these same people, upon getting back in bed, have a heck of a time returning to sleep.

Clients often assure me they get enough water because they drink lots of coffee, tea and other beverages. Here’s the problem: Wet does not equal water. These drinks, especially those containing caffeine or alcohol, are dehydrating, causing the body to lose water, and they are adding “nutrients” that must be metabolized before the water can be used. It is recommended that for each cup of non-water a cup of pure water be consumed.

In addition, clients express fear that drinking more water than they already do will further interrupt their sleep.

Being adequately hydrated tends to improve sleep simply because the “dehydration alarm” will not go off. Yes, you may need to get up once to void your bladder, but you should find it much easier to return to sleep.

I understand when people tell me they don’t like to drink water. I grew up in a town that heavily chlorinated its reservoir and a glass of water from the tap smelled and tasted like the municipal pool. It was metallic and sometimes it made my teeth hurt or my throat sore. Consequently, I rarely drank plain tap water. I was also ill a lot as a child.

Depending on where you live, you may have a similar experience - perhaps your tap yields brackish water or some other contaminant that causes you to avoid hydrating. In the US, municipalities tend to be in charge of water quality with standards set by states and, more often, the federal government's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Unfortunately, oversight can be lax, and in the past four years some regulations have been relaxed rather than strengthened. [According to Deanna DeLong in Drink Water for Life, Your Journey to Better Health, over 2,100 contaminants have been identified in US drinking water, but the EPA regulates only 89.]

If you suspect the purity of your water supply has been compromised, you may wish to invest in a filter. For suggestions regarding water filter options: https://www.nsf.org/news/consumer-tips-for-choosing-a-drinking-water-filter-to-reducecontaminants

Some people choose to drink bottled water, generally from plastic bottles. There are several reasons this should not be done on a regular basis.

● There is little regulation of bottled water – it may just be someone else’s municipal tap water.

● Plastic bottles are made with phthalates or plasticizers, which are absorbed into the water in the bottle and then into our bodies. Phthalates are believed to disrupt hormones and contribute to other disorders. They are banned in Europe.

● There are few effective recycling programs that actually deal with plastic bottles so they present a serious problem cluttering our environment, leaching into our water supplies and the ocean.

What do I recommend?

1. Figure out how much water you should consume in a day. The formula is simple: Divide your total body weight (in pounds) by two and drink that many ounces of pure water. [e.g. A half ounce per pound. If you weigh 100 pounds, drink 50 ounces.] Fill either glass or stainless-steel bottles with the total amount of water you should imbibe first thing in the morning and place them somewhere conspicuous such as your kitchen counter. I make this suggestion because we tend to inadvertently “cheat” – telling ourselves we refilled a bottle two or three times when we did not. To have the bottles staring at me tends to hold me accountable.

2. If you are physically active, increase the amount of water to 2/3 ounce per pound to help replace what you lose through sweat and breathing harder. If the weather is particularly hot and you are exercising, increase your water intake to about a cup every quarter hour.

3. Start your day with a large glass of water before you have your coffee or breakfast.

4. Drink a glass of water about a half hour before meals.

5. Drink another large glass of water about an hour or so after a meal.

What has proven fascinating about following this protocol is the consistent reports I receive. At first people report increased urge to urinate and then, as their bodies acclimate to the increased level of water, they need fewer trips to the loo. Also, people who had insisted they did not experience thirst reported starting to recognize a craving for water. Generally, sleep improves, anxiety as well as body aches are reduced, bowel function improves and people report they experience less joint pain and an improved complexion.

Ask your doctor if water is right for you.

Kayle Sandberg-Lewis holds a M.A. in Behavioral Medicine, the study of how what we do affects our well-being. She has over three decades experience in stress management and is board certified in neurofeedback, which she introduced to her practice in 1996. Kayle co-founded Hive Mind Medicine in 2019, where she currently offers neurofeedback to her clients. Telehealth consults are available.

Hive Mind Medicine blog posts are for educational purposes only and are not intended as medical advice. Please consult with your health care practitioner for personalized guidance. Click on the contact button below if you would like to schedule with one of our Hive Mind practitioners.