Did you know that dehydration and anxiety can be intertwined? Long-lasting dehydration can contribute to poor circulation and digestive issues, and may eventually affect mental health. Vitamin IV therapy from Toronto can help treat chronic dehydration though, which can  streamline wellness.

Chronic dehydration boosts your risks for forming other health concerns, such as UTIs, kidney stones, and hypertension. It can also cause lethargy and dizziness, and may exacerbate lingering worries you may have on a daily basis. The Toronto Functional Medicine Centre (TFMC) unravels the connection between dehydration and anxiety and how intravenous therapy can help provide optimal hydration. 

Dehydration and Anxiety: What’s the Link?

Steady hydration helps manage energy levels, digestion, muscle recovery, immune health, and more. However, “Deficits in body water can compromise our health if they lead to substantial perturbations in body water balance,” emphasizes a Nutrients article. 

Irregular fluid consumption is connected to anxiety. Weakness, fatigue, and light-headedness are just some dehydration symptoms, and when they pop up, they can increase muscle tension, boost your heart rate, and form brain fog. Consequently, panicky feelings can ensue.

It’s necessary then to practice prevention for managing anxiety, which means considering how anxiety may be triggered by fatigue, low mood, poor mental clarity, and such. Various medical journals have correlated a link between mood/anxiety and hydration in the human body. One study of 26 young men in 2011 involved workouts that induced dehydration; cognition and mood were surveyed during different stages of dehydration. The study revealed that a lack of H20 affects brain health functioning and mood, while heightening fatigue and anxiety. 

Another study from 2014 concluded that certain participants who already drank water regularly had their moods decline when they were asked to reduce their H20 intake. Meanwhile, participants who already had a low intake of fluids experienced less confusion and fatigue when they upped their water intake. 

Thus, considering your fluid levels can impact both your mind and body. Learning new techniques to increase your water intake can help support hydration.  

Sustaining Optimal Hydration Through Lifestyle Modifications and IV Therapy

Here are a few tricks to stay hydrated (and these may be helpful if you’re not a fan of drinking water):

• • Drink coconut water. Coconut water is a healthy alternative to sugary sports drinks, helping to boost your dietary intake of potassium. Replenishing potassium levels is suitable for muscle recovery due to physical exertions related to an athletic performance, and may help balance sodium levels for blood pressure regulation. 
  • Eat H20-rich foods. Instead of having ice cream for dessert, eat hydrating fruits to satisfy your sweet tooth. For instance, watermelon is 92% water, cantaloupe is 90%, peaches have 89% water content. Make a delicious fruit salad for a fun treat!
  • Get a regular custom-made IV drip. Intravenous therapy drips can be prescribed for instant hydration. They’re also suitable for health goals related to skin elasticity, physical performances, and brain function. Here’s how it works: an IV tube is inserted into your vein so that an intravenous solution can enter your bloodstream; this immediately hydrates you with high amounts of electrolytes and a blend of vitamins. As digestion is not needed for the intravenous absorption of nutrients, IV therapy can help prevent unwanted side effects that can occasionally come with oral supplementation (i.e. an upset stomach). When administered with other health interventions and lifestyle changes, IV drip treatments can support personal fluid levels, with the potential to optimize liver detoxification, energy production, and mood and anxiety levels.  

If you’re concerned about your mental health, we can custom-build a treatment plan just for you! We can measure your body’s levels of vitamins, minerals and more to determine if nutrient deficiencies are contributing to poor functioning or incessant worries. Reach out to us today. 

About Our IV Lounge’s Intravenous Infusion Therapies

Our IV Lounge is located inside the TFMC, which is our private downtown clinic. Our functional medicine and IV therapy providers can assist you with a personalized service of health care. 

A custom treatment plan not only helps with symptom relief, it may also inspire you to prevent chronic conditions through lifestyle modifications and nutritional interventions. Functional medicine therapies can be tailored for a plethora of health statuses, including those affected by poor cognitive function, autoimmune diseases, hormonal imbalances, cellular damage, nutritional deficiency, chronic fatigue syndrome, food sensitivities, whole-body inflammation, and post-disease symptoms.

Our collaborative approach to wellness is utilized for each patient. We take ample time to educate you on the beneficial effects of your treatment plan, while helping you recognize which health tools may promote improvements towards optimal function. As we modify your therapies, let us know what else you’d like us to consider! Tailored treatment modalities include naturopathic and allopathic treatments, herbal medicines, acupuncture, holistic nutrition, psychotherapy, and more. 

You also have the option of adding a supportive custom-made IV drip to your plan. When IV therapy treatments are united with daily healthy practices and other functional therapies, they can contribute to wellness improvements. Inside our IV Lounge, IV drip therapy is freshly compounded, with therapeutic doses of nutrients uniquely calculated to help tackle biological shortcomings. We can also prescribe additional key nutrients for IV therapy, such as vitamin C (ascorbic acid), amino acids, glutamic acid, folic acid, alpha lipoic acid, vitamin A, NAD+, glutathione, and other ingredients. Vitamin D injections can also be prescribed in our IV Lounge. 

Your intravenous treatment can also be designed for specific health goals, such as a post-surgical drip or anti-aging IV drip. We discuss your intentions for adjunct IV therapy during your initial consult, which is when we uncover your medical history (genetics), current lifestyle, environmental exposures, and more. 

Dehydration can hinder your daily functioning, so let’s explore the root of your health concerns to improve mental clarity. Get a head start by sending us a note – simply request your first consult for IV therapy from the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre. 

Disclaimer: The information in this article is designed for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care. This information should not be used to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting a doctor. You should always consult with a health care practitioner before relying on any information in this article or on this website. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your doctor or other qualified healthcare provider because of information you have read from the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre website or other affiliate media. 

 

References

“19 Water-Rich Foods That Help You Stay Hydrated” from Healthline, by Brianna Elliott, updated February 7, 2023, viewed on April 8, 2024. 

Ganio MS, Armstrong LE, Casa DJ, McDermott BP, Lee EC, Yamamoto LM, Marzano S, Lopez RM, Jimenez L, Le Bellego L, Chevillotte E, Lieberman HR. Mild dehydration impairs cognitive performance and mood of men. Br J Nutr. 2011 Nov;106(10):1535-43. doi: 10.1017/S0007114511002005. Epub 2011 Jun 7. PMID: 21736786.

Haghighatdoost F, Feizi A, Esmaillzadeh A, Rashidi-Pourfard N, Keshteli AH, Roohafza H, Adibi P. Drinking plain water is associated with decreased risk of depression and anxiety in adults: Results from a large cross-sectional study. World J Psychiatry. 2018 Sep 20;8(3):88-96. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v8.i3.88. PMID: 30254979; PMCID: PMC6147771.

Liska D, Mah E, Brisbois T, Barrios PL, Baker LB, Spriet LL. Narrative Review of Hydration and Selected Health Outcomes in the General Population. Nutrients. 2019 Jan 1;11(1):70. doi: 10.3390/nu11010070. PMID: 30609670; PMCID: PMC6356561.

Masento NA, Golightly M, Field DT, Butler LT, van Reekum CM. Effects of hydration status on cognitive performance and mood. British Journal of Nutrition. 2014;111(10):1841-1852. doi:10.1017/S0007114513004455

Muñoz CX, Johnson EC, McKenzie AL, Guelinckx I, Graverholt G, Casa DJ, Maresh CM, Armstrong LE. Habitual total water intake and dimensions of mood in healthy young women. Appetite. 2015 Sep;92:81-6. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2015.05.002. Epub 2015 May 8. PMID: 25963107.

Pross N, Demazières A, Girard N, Barnouin R, Metzger D, Klein A, Perrier E, Guelinckx I. Effects of changes in water intake on mood of high and low drinkers. PLoS One. 2014 Apr 11;9(4):e94754. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0094754. PMID: 24728141; PMCID: PMC3984246.