Besides thirst, what happens when we allow ourselves to become even a little dehydrated? We deteriorate. It’s just that simple. A 2006 study concluded that dehydration leads to poor problem solving, poor time management, and overall poor psychological processing. The deterioration of one’s mental and psychomotor processing is serious, for impaired or diminished functioning can lead to serious consequences beyond personal health risks. On the job or at home, accuracy, mental endurance, and task efficiency are vital. This should make you wonder: how many of your mistakes or errors in judgment have been the result of simple dehydration? If hydration is this impacting, then water ought to be everyone’s beverage of choice.

Cian C, Koulmann PA, Barraud PA, Raphel C, Jimenez C, Melin B. Influence of variations of body hydration on cognitive performance. J Psychophysiol. 2000;14:29–36. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2080479/