Today we are talking about Dehydration, Migraines, and Headaches. There are many articles available clearly stating the symptoms of dehydration and advising us to drink more fluids.

But I wanted to why it triggers headaches and triggers our migraines and headache. What happens in our bodies? Knowing the what, why, and how helps us all to apply the advice in our lives. Doesn’t help you too, other than just reading or hearing a piece of advice?

Dehydration occurs when more water is leaving our bodies than going into them. Our bodies are compromised of 75% water. Mild dehydration. Occurs when we’ve lost as little as 1%. At that level, our thirst mechanism kicks in.

Let me interject right here that as we age our thirst mechanism weakens, meaning that we may get the warning.

At about 3-5% water loss, neurological problems begin,such as dizziness, confusion, headache, migraine, tremors, and more.

What’s happening is our blood and cells begin losing water. Our blood is 90% water. As it loses it’s water, there is less blood which then lowers our blood pressure. Why is this important? Because less blood volume and pressure means less oxygen being delivered to our cells, such as our brains.

Our cells are losing water and shrinking.

Our brain is very sensitive to any imbalance.

Researchers are still working on that; however, they believe it’s a combination of less oxygen and electrolyte imbalance triggering pain receptors.

Drink fluids throughout the day. Caffeine and alcohol dehydrate. Make sure you drink more fluids if are consuming either. Remember not to count on your body telling you it’s thirsty. Just keep the fluids flowing.

Some say 6-8 glasses per day, but this varies by so many factors.

General rule of thumb: Drink to the point where your urine is light yellow. Then you know you’re right on target.

¹Robert, Teri. “Migraine Triggers: Dehydration”. migraine.com Health Union, LLC. date retrieved 07/15/2013.

²“Headaches and Dehydration”. The Pain Center of Arizona The Pain Center of Arizona. date retrieved 07/15/2013.

³Wedro, Benjamin, MD, FACEP, FAAEM. “Dehydration”. MedicineNet.com Medicinenet, Inc. date retrieved 07/15/2013.

⁴“Fluid, Electrolyte, and Acid-Base Balance”. midlandstech.edu Midlands Technical College. date retrieved 07/15/2013.

⁵Holm, Paige, R.D. “Water and Hydration”. www.health.arizona.edu/ The University of Arizona. date retrieved 07/15/2013.

⁶“Dehydration”. europeanhydrationinstitute.org The European Hydration Institute. date retrieved 07/15/2013.

⁷“Can Dehydration Cause Migraines”. cornerstone.com Cornerstone Spine & Rehabilitation Center. date retrieved 07/15/2013.

⁸Mack, Gary W, Ph.D. “Dehydration and Aging”. acsm.org American College of Sports Medicine. date retrieved 07/15/2013.