Hydration Week

It’s Hydration Week, a week designed to reinforce the importance of staying hydrated. Staying hydrated improves brain function, concentration levels, and physical health but it seems that 75% of the nation’s children aren’t drinking enough water.

In fact, research suggests that many children go as long as 18 hours without a drink, with over a quarter of parents not giving their child a drink at breakfast. Children are often reliant on their caregiver – whether that is a parent, grandparent or teacher – to help them keep on top of their hydration. Unfortunately, almost half of Brits (40%) don’t know how much water they should be drinking each day, and so underprovide for their children when it comes to their hydration.

This means that as much as 84% of children are thought to be dehydrated at the start of a school day. This is made worse by the fact that children are often prevented from leaving the classroom to get a drink – a survey of parents revealed that more than two thirds said their children are not allowed to leave the classroom to get a drink during lessons. This decision is often taken to limit distractions, but it means that 71% of school children do not drink enough water throughout the day to counteract the risk of further dehydration or even to maintain the hydration level that they had when they arrived at school.

Aston spoke to James Martin, founder of Super 8 Hydration.

Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash