I actually had someone grab a bottle of magnesium spray from my car because I was afraid if I tried to get up my legs would seize up. I thought maybe my workouts were catching up with me and my magnesium was too low. So I used the spray liberally on my legs. It seemed to help. I fell back asleep and woke up again at 3 am. The cramping started again. I started going through my head about how much water I’d had the day before, and the day before that – it wasn’t a lot. And on top of it, I’d had a few glasses of wine. Something I rarely do anymore. I just don’t have a lot of interest in drinking. And then it dawned on me. I was incredibly dehydrated. How ridiculous – I get paid to ask people how much water they drink. And how to strategize to get all their daily water in.
I have NEVER been that dehydrated. My symptoms? Constipation. Cramping. Migrating leg pain. And then once I realized it, drinking a lot of water didn’t help all that much. It took about a day and a half before all the pain went away. All day the next day, even though I was drinking a lot of water, I just kept peeing it out. I talk about this all the time with my patients. What’s better than a little reinforcement that what I tell my patients is actually true? What was happening in my body?
Think of a dry sponge. Now clean up a counter with a dry sponge. Doesn’t work that well. Or watering a dry plant. The water runs right through the dry soil. When your body becomes dehydrated, it has a hard time absorbing the water that you drink. You’ll notice that you urinate about 30-40 minutes after drinking a glass of water.
How do you rehydrate yourself effectively? There are a couple of ways. Watch this video to see how to make sole. This is a salt and water mixture that helps open up our dehydrated cells so they can absorb water again. The salt can be purchased HERE I also use this product, REHYDRATION. 10 drops in every liter of water. Between the 2 of these ideas, you’ll be able to replenish your body’s water stores with ease. Just make sure you’re drinking at least ½ your weight in ounces of water every day. Better to prevent dehydration, but it’s as important to know how to fix it. A large percentage of the population walks around every day dehydrated. Myriad symptoms are caused by dehydration. Just increasing your water can vastly improve your quality of life. Here are some of the symptoms of dehydration:
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Muscle aches
- Muscle cramps
- Pain
- Memory problems
- Dizziness
- Swollen feet
- Chills
- Constipation
How to know that you are actually hydrated:
- You urinate a few hours after drinking and infrequently; frequent urination is a sign that your body is not absorbing the water you are drinking
- You don’t have tenting (Pinch the skin between your thumb and forefinger. Your skin should snap back immediately)