Headaches are a major public health problem and a common neurological issue, especially amongst adolescents.1 Such a condition can become chronic and incapacitating if left untreated. Thus, early diagnosis and treatment is paramount to improve quality of life. Proper hydration can be a simple and cost effective first-step intervention, as part of a more complete strategy, in helping mitigate symptoms of headaches. As such, the following will explore hydration and benefits in greater detail.
Water is critical for life and is involved with key functions of the body in an almost ubiquitous fashion. Water is important as a solvent for biochemical reactions within each cell, helps maintain blood volume, regulates internal temperatures, and provides a medium to transport nutrients into, and metabolites/toxins out of, cells and tissues of the body.2
Deviations from optimal hydration levels, both too high and too low, can induce disturbances in health and homeostasis, and in extreme cases, even death. The normal daily variation in body water is less than 2% relative to body mass with hypohydration defined as water losses ≥2%.2(1) Ultimately, the body is sensitive to changes that deviate beyond said ranges, demanding maintenance of hydration for said physiological and biochemical processes.
Liska et al2(16) noted that hypohydration is thought to be a cause/contributor to headaches, and fluid consumption is suggested to help relieve headaches. The researchers cited two intervention trials that explored hydration and headache intensity that were promising; findings suggested that total hours of individuals experiencing headaches were reduced when water was used to rehydrate participants.
Such changes occurred from an increase of 1.5 L/day in the intervention group, while the control group who were given a placebo tablet.2(16) Furthermore, 47% of the subjects in the intervention group self-reported improvement against 25% of the control group. However, objective measures (i.e., hours of headaches, headache days, medication use) were not different between subjects who consumed additional water and controls.2(16) Hydration is suggested to be a factor in mitigating headaches. However, the research cited by Liska et al2(16) had several limitations to include a small sample size, a high attrition rate, and potential unblinding of subjects. Such limitations must be acknowledged, and the need to construct a larger study with more participants and better blinding techniques is critical to better elucidate the potential benefits of hydration on headache.
In conclusion, and despite study limitations, encouraging optimal hydration amongst individuals experiencing headaches, and the general population, remains relevant; hydration is critical for biochemical reactions within cells, blood volume maintenance, internal temperature regulation, and transport of nutrients into, and metabolites/toxins out of, cells and tissues of the body. Such processes are paramount in health maintenance and disease prevention, which should help galvanize individuals’ convictions of maintaining optimal hydration.
References
1. Milinarevic-Polic I, Kuzman Z, Aleric I, et al. Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of primary headaches in adolescent population: Is there a relationship with the way of life? Acta Neurol Belg. 1-9. doi:10.1007/s13760-019-01220-5.
2. Liska D, Mah E, Brisbois T, et al. Narrative review of hydration and selected health outcomes in the general population. MDPI. 2019;11(70):1-29: doi:10.3390/nu11010070.
-Michael McIsaac