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Up to 60% of the adult human body is water. Water plays a role in most bodily functions including lubricating our eyes and joints, keeping skin healthy, helping to eliminate body toxins, and facilitating digestion and circulation, to name a few.
It should be no surprise that a decrease in body water content results in (sometimes severe) physiological problems. In the workplace, proper hydration should always be considered a form of PPE and part of an everyday safety program. After all, a dehydrated worker can suffer health effects, and may also make critical errors that can affect their own safety and the safety of others.
So, what happens when people get dehydrated?
Harm from dehydration isn’t limited to the immediate physical effects. Research indicates that dehydration decreases fluid in the brain tissue, which in turn will result as changes in brain volume. The end result of this fluid loss can result in lower mental performance or cognitive acuity. 1% dehydration (or a loss of 800 ml of fluid in an 80 kg individual) has been linked to a 12% decrease in employee productivity and a 3%-4% dehydration can result in a 25-50% decline in employee performance.
Dehydration can slow reaction times in the same way as alcohol impairment. 3% dehydration can have the same effect on a person’s reflexes as a 0.08 blood alcohol content, making errors in judgment and reaction time significantly more likely.
Dehydration and heat stress are two sides of the same coin. NASA determined that an employee that usually works at 80ºF (27ºC), if exposed to temperatures of 95ºF (35ºC), will make 12 times more errors compared to the work performance at the temperature they were accustomed to, and many of these errors translate to an increase in injury rate.
This begs the question of whether or not dehydrated employees should be trusted to operate heavy equipment and dangerous tools, direct traffic, or perform any high hazard activity. Not being able to properly assess the hazards in the workplace is a major source of accidents and injuries. As a result, dehydration should always be a special concern for health and safety practitioners.
Is Drinking Water Enough?
Knowing the severe mental and physiological effects of dehydration, it seems people would do a good job staying hydrated throughout the day, however, that is not necessarily the case. While most people think they do fairly well, the studies show that up to 80% of the adult U.S. population goes through at least part of their day (at least) mildly dehydrated - and consider that many of those people likely aren’t working at physical jobs in hot environments.
While water may be optimal for hydration in office workers, for those who are sweating at a high rate, research suggests that it isn’t enough. Sweat contains electrolytes, which need to be replaced for optimal hydration and performance. Severe climates and intense work conditions will put workers in greater danger of dehydration requiring more to be replaced than just water for complete hydration. If you work in these type conditions or if you fall into any of the following circumstances, you should consider a fluid with electrolytes to boost the minerals in your body.
To find out more about creating a complete hydration safety program, contact Kent Precision Foods Group and ask about its lineup of Sqwincher products at 800.654.1920 or visit www.sqwincher.com.
