Have you ever found yourself tossing and turning at night for seemingly no reason? You’ve had a pleasant day. You’re not plagued by stress. You’re not struggling to breathe right because of a cold. What could it be? As you wrack your brain for a reason, none surfaces. What could it be? One of the silent sleep saboteurs is so obvious we often don’t make the connection: dehydration. So much of our sleep quality is determined, and even improved, by the healthy habits we partake in first thing in the morning and throughout the day, such as staying properly hydrated.
Dehydration can disrupt our sleep-wake cycles through hormonal and physiological pathways and cause unpleasant symptoms like headaches, muscle cramps, and dry mouth, which can really put a wrench in our ability to fall and/or stay asleep. Let’s explore more in-depth why dehydration can do such a number on our sleep quality and how sipping on the right electrolyte beverages, like those by LMNT, can help you slip into a state of optimal rest, and stay there.
How Dehydration Affects Sleep Quality
If you find yourself reaching for a big glass of water before bed or waking up in the middle of the night to chug the water on your nightstand, you’re already dehydrated. Along with being thirsty, tell-tale signs of dehydration can include symptoms like muscle cramping, headaches, and dry mouth. And they can make falling asleep and staying asleep that much more difficult. Older adults are even more likely to experience fragmented sleep if dehydrated, primarily due to physical discomfort or thirst. What’s more is that chronic dehydration may also impair kidney function, making it harder for the body to maintain appropriate fluid levels during the night, further contributing to sleep disturbances.
Beyond the physical symptoms of dehydration that are more obvious, going to bed dehydrated can affect your hormones, specifically your body’s stress hormone, cortisol. Dehydration can increase levels of cortisol, which can disrupt sleep patterns and make it difficult for your body to drop into deep sleep (or slow-wave sleep). It may also interfere with the release of vasopressin, a hormone that helps the body retain water during sleep, resulting in increased water loss and potentially more fragmented sleep.
Dehydration’s Two-Way Relationship with Sleep
Not only can dehydration worsen sleep quality, but poor sleep itself may increase the risk of becoming dehydrated. Studies have found that people who sleep less (such as six versus eight hours) often show greater signs of dehydration due to missing a critical window for vasopressin release, which may itself contribute to feeling poorly after poor sleep. Additionally, chronic poor sleep may intensify dehydration by impairing kidney function and altering water regulation, creating a feedback loop between poor sleep and dehydration.
Maintain Balanced Electrolytes for Better Sleep
Maintaining optimal fluid and electrolyte levels is essential for virtually all your organ systems to operate, and the trick is to get ahead of your dehydration before you can feel it. Don’t wait until you’re waking up multiple times at night to drink water or urinate (as the body attempts to conserve fluids). Drink electrolyte-rich beverages like LMNT first thing in the morning to replenish your body with any fluids lost during sleep and continue to keep up with your fluid intake throughout the day. This will set you up for a successful night’s sleep, as hydration is correlated with longer REM sleep, better sleep duration, and greater sleep efficiency—all of which benefit your brain and body. By staying hydrated throughout the day, you’ll support your body’s temperature regulation, sleep-related hormone balances, and the glymphatic system (essentially your brain’s lymphatic system, which helps with waste clearance during sleep).
Older adults, who may already be at a higher risk for dehydration due to age-related changes in thirst perception and kidney function, should think of hydration as a sleep hack. And when we think about drinking fluids that hydrate, we don’t mean just water. It’s about intaking fluids with balanced levels of sodium, potassium, and magnesium. When these minerals aren’t in balance, it can affect your neural functioning, further disturbing the natural sleep cycle. (Ever wake up with a Charley horse in your leg? Yeah, an off-kilter electrolyte balance is likely to blame.)
Sip LMNT for a Restful Slumber
Prioritizing electrolyte-rich beverages throughout the day, while avoiding large amounts right before bed to prevent both dehydration and sleep disruptions is key—and LMNT’s balance of sodium, magnesium, and potassium is exactly what your body needs to stay hydrated without any guesswork.
Whether you choose to enjoy LMNT ’s tear-and-go electrolyte packets or their Sparkling cans, you can hydrate throughout the day to prime your body for a restful night. With a handful of delicious flavors to choose from, your taste buds will never sigh in boredom and staying hydrated won’t feel like a chore but more like a delicious habit that will set you up for success from day to night.
Prevent poor sleep by prioritizing your hydration with LMNT. Get a free 8-count Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular drink mix flavors with any purchase by using our link here.
For more information on the salty science behind LMNT, read here.
Note: If you are hypertensive or pre-hypertensive, consult your physician before using LMNT.
Cover image credit: Iuliia Pilipeichenko / iStock