What would happen to you if you stopped drinking water?

If you’ve been following the sequence of life-changers in my book, Change Your Life this Year, then you know that we only have a few days left in this month in which to try and establish the habit of drinking more water.

Just in case you need some further persuasion, here’s what would happen to your body if you stopped drinking water (or liquids that contain water):

1. The thirst centre is situated in the hypothalamus of the brain and is constantly using sensors in your blood vessels to monitor the amount of sodium and other substances in the body.  If, for example, you sweat a lot your blood volume and blood pressure fall. Your body detects this change and creates the urge to drink something. NOW.  So please, don’t ignore that signal when it comes.

2. If you don’t get water, the first thing you’ll experience is a dry mouth and throat, a feeling of lightheadedness, a decreased ability to feel pain and a slower response time on activities requiring thought.

3. After just 2 days without water, your brain will start to shrink and you’ll experience muscle spasms, nausea, no urine, troubling swallowing and eventually delirium. Many elderly people who appear to be suffering from delirium could simply be dehydrated – so make sure your elderly parent gets enough liquids in every day.

4. If you have not had water for between 3 and 5 days, your blood will stop flowing to skin and will focus on your core. In other words, you will turn greyish-blue.

5. The final step will be that your body will start shutting down its organs and the brain.

Life without water is totally unthinkable and yet, despite the fact that Earth is the blue planet, covered in water, only 1% of that water is actually available to drink. Water is incredibly precious, especially in South Africa, where I come from, so do your bit to use it well and wisely.