Alcohol as a Diuretic
Drink water regularly when drinking alcohol
Most people don’t understand the importance of staying hydrated when drinking alcohol. Alcohol is a diuretic that dehydrates the body quite aggressively. Every standard drink a person has dehydrates them by an astounding 120ml.
That’s 120ml on top of how much urine the body normally would create. For example a person drinking a 200ml standard drink will theoretically pass 320ml going to the toilet.
A glass of wine (150ml) is approximately 1.5 standard drinks meaning the drinker will be dehydrated 180ml from that one drink. If that person has 5 – 10 glasses of wine then that equates to the drinker being a staggering 900ml to 1.8L down on fluid that should be in their body.
A Schooner (425ml) of full strength beer is approximately 1.6 standard drinks, which translates to a loss of 192ml for each drink. A person drinking 5 – 10 schooners of full strength beer means that person will be dehydrated by 960ml to 1.92L.
Effects of Dehydration
The brain shrinks when we’re dehydrated, making it harder to concentrate & fend off irritability. Dehydration has a negative effect on some elements of cognitive function & in particular seems to reduce alertness. Dehydration results in adverse changes in key mood states such as vigour and fatigue, as well as increased headaches & difficulty concentrating.
Further reading;
Alcohol as a diuretic click here
Effects of Dehydration click here