How Chronic Dehydration Can Impact Worker Health and Wellness
It’s supposed to be common knowledge: dehydration is bad, drink fluids to stay hydrated and avoid the serious dehydration symptoms. But that doesn’t mean everyone knows exactly how to hydrate properly and how often to do it.
Dehydration happens for a few different reasons:
- I’m not thirsty. The most typical response. Waiting until you’re thirsty to pause for a drink is better than nothing, but the healthier practice is to avoid waiting to reach the point of thirst, because at that point you’re already partially dehydrated.
- I’m too busy. Others get caught up in their work and simply forget to take a drink. The best remedy for this is to ensure a bottle of water or sports drink is close at hand, or even to set a reminder on your phone.
- I’ll have coffee or a soft drink. Many people simply drink the wrong things. Coffee and soda products contain caffeine, which is a diuretic. Although they do provide some hydration, they also promote increased fluid loss through urination. Sugary soft drinks make your body work harder to process all that extra sugar, which further increases the drying-ou of the body.
- I prefer a really cold beer. Alcohol is a major cause of dehydration. Although alcohol is clearly a banned substance on a worksite, it is often seen as the reward for hard work performed at home, such as yard work or home construction projects and during leisure activities like playing sports. Dehydration does not discriminate between work and leisure activities. Part of the reason people suffer so badly during hangovers is due to dehydration, especially in the blood vessels of the brain, which contract when dried out. As satisfying as a drink or two may be for some people, it is a very good idea to balance it out with equal amounts of water and electrolytes.
In addition, perspiration eliminates fluids from the body in order to help it cool down. It does not have to be heavy perspiration either – even regular activities like breathing and walking all help eliminate water from the body. Additionally, people who are ill or those who have diabetes are also prone to increased fluid loss and dehydration.
What are the Symptoms of Dehydration?
As the body loses critical levels of vital fluids, the first and most obvious symptom is thirst. But if this goes ignored, or undermanaged by not drinking enough or drinking the wrong types of fluids, you can expect:
- Dizziness and loss of balance
- Headaches and muscle cramps
- Disorientation or confusion
- Darker colored urine and difficulty urinating
Why is hydration important?
When we drink water, electrolyte drinks, and other beverages, we don’t usually think about what it does or where it goes. Well, it goes everywhere around your body and helps it perform a lot of its essential functions. Your body is composed of somewhere between 60 to 70% water, after all, and your internal organs and brain matter need it just to survive. A 15% drop in fluids is all it takes to start causing organ failure.
Water helps regulate your body temperature, digest food, keeps blood flowing at the right consistency, flush out wastes and toxins, lubricate joints and eyes and balances your natural internal chemistry.
Dehydration’s impact on Worker Health and Wellness
As the effects of dehydration worsen, workers move from easily hidden and easily ignored symptoms such as thirst, headaches, lightheadedness, and dry mouth to more visible and potentially harmful conditions. These include drowsiness, disorientation, weak pulse, rapid heartbeat, and seizures. Although some workers may have the self-awareness or the mandated health and safety protocols to take regular hydration breaks, others, such as those working in factory situations, may lack both of these options.
Employers’ Obligations to Prevent Dehydration
Hydration is also a critical health and safety issue. Workers need to stay properly hydrated to ensure their personal health as well as their ability to perform their work safely. As the body’s fluids drop, energy decreases, which increases the chances for both errors and accidents. Employers have a legal duty to provide and maintain a safe working environment, in accordance with local or federal occupational health and safety statutes. This not only includes ensuring access to water, but also ensuring adequate training on dehydration awareness and prevention, supporting a culture in which hydration breaks are the norm and enforced, and training employees in the recognition of the signs of dehydration in oneself and in other team members and people overall.
Some important measures employers can implement to promote hydration:
Workers should remain aware of potential dehydration conditions in all work situations, not just those of extreme heat or exertion. It is too easy to dismiss thirst as an inconvenience, but just like recharging your phone before its battery drops below 10%, it’s much easier to deal with when you do it regularly and in advance.
Additionally, it is important to encourage the use of cooling gear and make evaporative cooling fans available for use in hot or enclosed areas to allow for proper ventilation. Many employers have also adopted the use of Electrolyte freezer pops that not only help cool the body, but are also loaded with the essential electrolytes to avoid dehydration. Hydration depot offers several types of freezer pops including Sqwincher Sqweeze Freezer Pops and Sqwincher Sqweeze ZERO Sugar Free or the amazing MyHy Big Freezie Bundle which includes a free freezer to store the pops. If frozen pops does not work for you, there are always Gatorade, Sqwincher and MyHy electrolyte replenishment products in ready-to-drink bottles, Individual single-serve packets or bulk 1, 2.5 or 6-gallon versions. Regardless of your location, vocation or preferred method of hydration, Hydration Depot has the product in stock and ready to ship to you. Do you have a preferred flavor or color of sports drink? At the Hydration Depot you can even Shop by Flavor! So do yourself and your team a favor and pre-order your hydration products before the real summer heat comes in.
Are you looking for supplies to keep your workers cool and your budget intact while minimizing your carbon and plastic footprint? HydrationDepot.com has you covered. Contact to place your order today or Click Here to shop. Your staff, your accountant, and Mother Earth will thank you!