Sleep & Hydration

Staying hydrated is vital for keeping your body happy and healthy. Staying hydrated while you sleep isn’t always easy. You want to make sure you drinking enough water during the day that you are hydrated throughout the night. Although sleeping for hours and sweating can quickly dehydrate you. We are going to share some of the main frustrations with sleep and hydration as well as our top tips for staying hydrated!

Going To Sleep Dehydrated:

Heading off to sleep when you are dehydrated can have a negative effect on your sleep. The first signs that you are going to sleep dehydrated is that your airways get dried out. Your lips, mouth, throat, and nasal passages get dry and uncomfortable.

This can cause chapped lips, and a sore throat and nose. Throughout the night as you sleep, our body temperatures tend to go up. This often leads to excess sweating and so on.

Which means when you are just slightly dehydrated when you go to bed, you will wake up even more dehydrated.

Waking Up Dehydrated:

It is very common to wake up feeling dehydrated after a full nights rest. It is a long period of time in which your body is not getting a top up of water while you’re sleeping.

When you are waking up when dehydrated, it can feel very similar to a hangover. This is because many of the symptoms that cause hangovers are also caused by the dehydrating aspect of over consuming alcohol.

Headaches are very common with dehydration, along with general grogginess, sore throat, dry mouth, and so on. This can make the mornings all the more exhausting. It can be difficult to get up and start your day even when you’re well hydrated. We suggest drinking plenty of water throughout the day, however it is especially important to hydrate first thing in the morning. This will help you to feel better and start waking up.

Does Sleep Dehydrate You?

It is very common to lose hydration while you sleep. This is because of the long hours without drinking water, as well as overheating and sweating.

While not everyone feels the sensation of overheating at night. Even if you fall asleep feeling perfectly comfortable, we tend to warm up as we sleep and can often wake up feeling hot and sweaty. This can very quickly cause you to dehydrate.

To answer the initial question, yes you can get dehydrated while you sleep. Which is why it is important to stay as hydrated as possible throughout the day so you don’t get too dehydrated while you sleep.

Overhydration Can Make You Tired:

Most of us don’t need to worry about getting over hydrated, as we are focused on simply staying hydrated to begin with.

However, it is worth mentioning that if you somehow manage to become consistently overly hydrated, that it can make you feel drowsy. This is very uncommon as most people do not drink enough water throughout the day to meet normal hydration requirements. This often only occurs if you are in taking fluids faster than your kidneys can process.

However, if you are receiving fluids intravenously or drinking and abundant amount of water, then this may be something to keep an eye out for. While being overly hydrated is uncommon and not a big issue, it is something to be aware of that it may make you feel tired even if you are getting more than enough rest.

Frequent Nightly Bathroom Breaks:

If you are drinking late into the evening, you may experience that you are needing to wake up and use the restroom throughout the night. This can be very disruptive to your sleep.

While it is important to stay hydrated, you need to know your body and when a good time to stop drinking liquids in the evening is for you.

If you suffer from late night bathroom breaks that are disrupting your sleep, then it is also important to avoid diuretics like coffee and alcohol in the evenings as well. These will increase urine production and can irritate your bladder.

How Much Water Do I Need Per Day?

On average, you need about 2.5 to 3.5 liters of water per day depending on your height and weight. In general women tend to need about 2.7 liters while the average size adult man should have around 3.7 liters.

For a good reference point the average glass of water is 8 ounces, which is around 2 liters of water. However, many water glasses are much smaller than 8 ounces of water. It is much easier to track your water intake with a properly measured out water bottle. Keep reading our top tips for staying hydrated to learn more!

Tips For Staying Hydrated For Sleep:

Drink Water Before Coffee:

If you love your caffeine in the mornings, then we highly suggest you drink a big glass of water before you drink your morning coffee. Caffeinated beverages are often diuretics, which means they increase urine production and can dehydrate you.

By topping off your hydration first thing in the morning this will not only help to keep you hydrated before your coffee, you make find it also helps to wake you up.

A glass of cold water in the morning is a refreshing and rejuvenating way to start your morning. Then you can hit the coffee as needed.

Track Your Water Intake:

Find a good way you can keep track of how much water you have had to drink throughout the day. There are plenty of handy water bottles around these days that provide different ways to track your water intake as well as serve as a good reminder to stay hydrated.

This is much easier than having to try and remember how many glasses of water you had this morning to this afternoon.

By tracking your water intake you are more likely to stay properly hydrated throughout the day.

It helps you stay on track, you may also find that on average you are drinking far less water per day then you thought. This is very common and precisely the reason we suggest tracking your water intake.

Bladder Control Issues:

While we often think of bladder control being centralized to children and the elderly, bladder control is a common issue for people of all ages. If you have a lot of trouble you may even experience complete loss of bladder control during the night leading to an unintentional bladder release.

While this can happen to just about anyone on rare occasions. If you are experiencing bed wetting often as an adult, you may want to talk to you doctor to see if there are any other health issues that need to be looked into.

If you have bladder trouble that disrupts your sleep, try to concentrate your hydration in the mornings and afternoons.

Try to limit the amount of liquid you drink in the evenings as this will increase the amount of times you will need to use the restroom in the evenings. We also suggest refraining from caffeine or alcohol in the evenings as well as these tend to increase urine production.

Stay Cool At Night:

A great way to stay hydrated throughout the night is by staying cool. One way to do this is by having a mattress and bedding that prevents trapping in heat. By staying cool during the night you will be much less likely to sweat, which of course also helps you to remain hydrated throughout the night.

It will also help you to comfortably sleep as well. All of which will help you to wake up feeling hydrated and well rested. A breathable mattress that has space for your heat to move away from your body as well as breathable bedding all help to keep you cool.

Another way to stay cool is rather simple, turn the temperature down on your AC, it is suggested that you sleep in a room around 68-72 degress in order to stay comfortable as you rest. This is of course a bit easier to do in the winter than it is during the summer.

Learn more about the top sleep products for staying cool in our post: Top Cooling Comforters For Hot Sleepers & Best Cooling Sleep Products For Hot Sleepers

Great Water Bottles That Will Help You Stay Hydrated!

Gem Water Wellness Gem-Water Bottle

Amethyst • Rose Quartz • Clear Quartz
Click HERE to shop now.

BKR Fifth Ave. Water Bottle

This navy water bottle looks great and stays cool even in summer heat.
Click HERE to shop now.

Baker Miller Water Bottle

Made in the famous Drunk Tank Pink that has been studied to help you stay calm and relaxed.
Click HERE to shop now.

BKR Spiked Water Bottle

Look extra on trend with this spiked water bottle from BKR.
Click HERE to shop now.

Reusable Straws

These reusable straws are the perfect hydration pal for anyone who is extra eco-conscious.
Click HERE to shop now.

Sleep & Hydration – Final Thoughts:

In order to get the rest you need it is important to be hydrated. Sleep can often be a dehydrating process. Which is why it is also vital that you rehydrate in the morning once you wake up as well. We suggest drinking a nice cold glass of water first thing in the morning before any caffeine.

This helps to replenish your body and get you ready to take on your day. It is also important to stay on track of how much water you have had to drink each day. When you stay on top of your hydration, you’re staying on top of your health.

Have a question for us? Send us a message through our Contact Us page and we would be happy to help answer any questions you have.