Lack of proper sleep linked to dehydration: Study

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Adults who sleep just six hours per night instead of eight may have a higher chance of suffering from dehydration, according to a study.

The study highlighted that those who do not feel well after a night of poor sleep are likely to feel dehydrated and may want to consider drinking more water.

Dehydration negatively affects many of the body's systems and functions, including cognition, mood, physical performance and others. Long term or chronic dehydration can lead to more serious problems, such as higher risk of urinary tract infections and kidney stones.

"If you are only getting six hours of sleep a night, it can affect your hydration status. This study suggests that if you are not getting enough sleep, and you feel bad or tired the next day, drink extra water," said Asher Rosinger, Assistant Professor from the University of Pennsylvania in the US.

For the study, published in the journal SLEEP, the team included more than 20,000 adults and studied how sleep affected their hydration status and the risk of dehydration.

Participants were surveyed about their sleeping habits, and their urine samples were collected.

Results showed that adults who reported sleeping six hours had significantly more concentrated urine and 16 to 59 per cent higher odds of being inadequately hydrated compared to adults who slept eight hours on a regular basis at night.

The cause was linked to the way the body's vasopressin -- a hormone -- is released to help regulate the body's hydration status throughout the day, as well as during night-time sleeping hours.

All data is observational, therefore, the association results should not be viewed as causal, the researchers said.

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