Last week at school something small happened but it made me think alot. During lunch break I went to drink water from the cooler and it tasted a little strange, kind of warm and not fresh. So I did not finish it. By the afternoon class I was feeling tired and cranky and I could not focus on my science chapter at all. I thought I was just being lazy. But my teacher was talking that same day about water and our body, and slowly I started wondering if the two things were connected. That is how I became curious about water quality and mental wellbeing, which is a big topic for a small kid like me.
What does water quality even mean?
At first I thought water quality just means clean water. But it is more than that. My teacher said water quality means whether the water is clean, safe, and okay in taste and smell, and whether it is really fine to drink. So it is not only one thing. Water can look totally clear in the glass and still not be good, because some germs and tiny harmful things are so small that our eyes cannot see them.
This part surprised me. I always thought if water looks clean then it is clean. But that is not always true. The World Health Organization says that around 2.2 billion people in the world do not have safely managed drinking water, and at least 1.7 billion people use water that has germs from human waste in it. Those germs can make people sick, because our body is not built to fight all of them. I did not know it was so many people and it made me feel a little sad and lucky at the same time.
Are hydration and water quality the same thing?
This is where I got confused. Hydration and water quality sounded like the same thing to me, but they are not. My teacher explained it slowly. Hydration means having enough water inside the body. Water quality means whether that water is clean and safe to drink.
A person can drink a lot of water and be well hydrated, but if the water is dirty it can still make them ill. And if the water tastes bad, a person may not drink enough, and then they become dehydrated. So the two things are connected but still different. I found this part interesting because I had never thought about it before.
Can the water we drink change how our brain feels?
Our brain also need water to work properly. The U.S. Geological Survey says the brain is about 73 percent water, which is a huge amount for something so small. So when we do not drink enough, our brain does not get what it needs.
Scientists at the University of Connecticut found that even mild dehydration, which means losing only about 1.5 percent of the water in the body, can cause headaches, tiredness and trouble concentrating. That is almost exactly how I felt in that afternoon class. My teacher called this hydration and mental clarity, which sounded like very big words to me, but it just means that water helps our thinking feel less foggy.
Why do we get grumpy when we are thirsty?
I noticed that when I am thirsty I become irritated for no reason. And it is not only me. My little brother becomes very cranky when he forgets to drink during play, and everytime that happens my mother gives him water first before asking anything. Maybe our body is uncomfortable and it cannot say it in words, so it just makes us moody instead. This does not mean water is magic. It only means a thirsty body is not a comfortable body.
When water tastes strange nobody wants to drink it
Here is a thing I definitely noticed. Everytime the water smells strange or tastes off, people just avoid it. I did it myself at school. And if we avoid water then we drink less, and then the tired grumpy feeling comes back again. So the taste and smell are not small matters, they quietly decide how much a person drinks in a day. Clean and nice water is easy to keep sipping, and that steady sipping is a quiet kind of water and stress relief for the body, because it stays comfortable instead of going up and down.
The worry that sits in a house
There is one more part that is not even about drinking. Sometimes families worry whether their water is really safe, especially for small children and old people. When grown ups are unsure about the water, that worry sits in the house like a small cloud. Feeling calm partly comes from feeling safe, so being confident that your water is clean can help hydrate emotional health in a simple everyday way. It is just one less thing to worry about. This is one more reason water quality and mental wellbeing feel connected to me.
But I want to be honest, like my teacher was. Water cannot cure sadness or worry or anxiety or depression. Those are real and they need real help. If someone feels sad, anxious, confused or has headaches for a long time, they should talk to a parent, a trusted adult, a doctor or a proper professional. And our mood is not only about water anyway. Sleep, food, stress, being sick, and the things happening at home or school also change how we feel.
Small things we started doing at home
Helping is actually easy and free. We started keeping clean water where everyone can see it, so we remember to drink. I carry my own bottle to school now, even though I still forget it sometimes. When I do homework I take a small water break after every page, and when I play outside I try to stop and sip even though playing is more fun. I like to call it my mindful hydration wellbeing habit, though that name feels a bit too grown up for a kid like me.
What I understood at the end
I don’t know everything. I am only ten and I still forget my own water when I am watching cartoons. But now I understand that clean, safe water helps my brain and body feel a little calmer and more comfortable, even if it is not a medicine. Tonight I am going to check my grandmother’s bottle and my own, before anybody has to remind me. Maybe that is my small job now.
Author bio: This guest article was put together with editorial help from the team at Dvine H2O, a company that works on clean, everyday drinking water for Indian homes. You can read more about their work on the Dvine H2O.