We are the proud new-ish parents to a 6 month old Golden Retriever. Being this incredible creatures’ new mom and dad, we’ve definitely noticed that this boy does not drink enough water! With the heat wave we’ve had here in northeast Ohio over the past several weeks, consistent hydration is key not only for our furry friends, but also for humans.

Little did we know, that when a dog is dehydrated, they tend to foam up around the mouth. It’s a sticky, very white colored and thick sort of goo, and at first we just thought it was just nerves.

For example, he had this goop around his mouth on his way home from the breeders. We thought it was the nerves of being in a new environment, with total strangers. We later found out he was probably just dehydrated!

So this quandary of trying to get our dog to drink more water has gotten me thinking about how important internal hydration is to any living organism. By the way, good luck with getting a dog to drink when you think he needs to, they can be very strong willed!

It will help immensely to make sure the water is filtered and ice cold, the more appealing the better, but you can only get a dog to do so much if they just don’t feel the urge to do it themselves!

Internal Hydration - Skin

This all made me think about something I’ve written of before, which is the importance of internal hydration for humans. I think it is underestimated how important hydration is to not only how you feel , but also on your ability to focus, be comfortable, and potentially even to live a long, healthy life. Related: Why Hydration Makes Your Skin Look Better

I’ve written about the benefits of alkaline water previously. I truly believe that drinking purified, more alkaline water can make a huge difference in the level of hydration you experience. Here’s the thing that’s important to know too if you’re into skincare and making your skin looks its best. It’s really key to be hydrated - whatever that means to you individually - if you want your skin to looks its absolute best.

My skin literally begins to feel taut and dry if I’m dehydrated. If I look in a mirror, I look noticeably more drawn and tired, as well as (unfortunately) a few years older! Your skin is hypersensitive to dehydration because it requires that internal level of moisture in order to look plumped out and healthy.

If you drink a lot of coffee or consume a lot of caffeinated or alcohol-based beverages, all of which have dehydrating effects on the skin and the body, you will definitely notice visibly drier skin, and it may even alter the way your face is shaped a bit, due to a sort of deflation that occurs. Alcohol and caffeine just accelerate the dehydration process due to their effect on ADH, or the anti-diuretic hormone.

Internal Hydration - Focus and Mental Acuity

Not only will I get a banging headache if I’m dehydrated. I will also start to notice that I can’t focus as clearly. Many times people confuse their thirst for hunger. But often, this feeling of hunger is really just your body asking for more water. Related: Benefits of Drinking Lemon Water

Dehydration has been documented to cause confusion and lethargy in not only people, but all creatures who depend on hydrating their cells and organs for good health and peak functionality.

If you really want to boost productivity and ensure good focus and energy levels, make sure you have high quality, filtered water nearby at all times. Increase water intake if you plan on drinking diuretic fluids like caffeine or alcohol. Seriously consider investing in some high quality filtered alkaline water, which not only tastes ten times better than non-alkaline water, but has a lot of other health and wellness benefits as well, according to its biggest fans.