The rate of inadequate intake of water among college students has increased substantially, thus proving to be major public health issues. Dehydration has been associated with various health adverse, which include poor academic performances; however inadequate hydration is often not understood well.
Engaging in learning during school time can be challenging due to long sitting hours. Feeling dehydrated and exhorted can be an eminent effect of this. Water is an essentials aspect of life. A major key factor of survival has focused on prevention of hydration. Water is considered as an important construct, it acts as a medium for various metabolic processes in the body. Adequate intake is essential for life maintenance and enhancing normal physical and improvement on cognitive performances, (Patel et al., 2011). Adequate hydration is obtained by balancing water intake, water production, and water losses. Sources of water in the body are obtained from drinking water and beverages taken. Moisture of foods further enhances water content in the body. The adequate amounts of watery fluid in the body which is a need for metabolic processes is however limited, it varies between 250-350 ml per day among sedentary people to about 600 ml per day among active persons, (Park, Sherru, Oolle & Huang, 2011).
Water requirements in the body among individuals always vary as per various environmental factors which include climate, diet, physical climates, and physical activity levels. Due to the various variability observed, the minimum water level intake of water cannot be used to ascertain the actual water content in the body, this cannot be used as requirements of risk factors of water shortage. Predominant water sources are often the intake of fluids which accounts for 80%, while water from the foods contributes only 20%, (Alanazi, 2018).
Water intake among college’s students is key. Water has been found to display cognitive effects. It causes mild levels of dehydration which can produce disruptions and cause mood and cognitive functionality. Mild dehydration cases cause important perspectives on the number of various important aspects of functions such as concentration, alertness, and short-term memory, (Fadda et al., 2008). Mild dehydration does not appear to have an effect on the functionality of cognitive behavior.
Studies undertaken on cognitive tests have divergent dehydration condition effects, (D’Anci, Vibhakar, Kanetr, Mahoney & Tylor, 2009). Performance is usually impaired when performing tasks which examine visual perception, short-term memory, and psychomotor ability. The only consistent effect has been shown to have a mild decrease in cognitive performance. Consistent effects have been shown to have elevated effects on mood scores, fatigue, anger, confusion and vigor among college students.
The living cells often need for nourishment, various metabolic processes, balancing electrolytes, regulation of temperature and managing body process. A deficit in the body of about 1-2 % may lead to mild dehydration. Mild dehydration has been shown to have effects on human health, which include alterations of cognitive functions which include concentration, short-term memory, and concentrations, (Edmonds & Jeffes, 2009). Often symptoms of dehydration have been observed and vary depending on the effect. Majorly it causes headaches, dizziness, confusions, reduced levels of motor activities, lowered levels of cognitive functioning and changes in concentrations level, (Rousessll et al., 2011).
Common causes of dehydration have been observed to be caused by various environmental factors such as heat and humidity, physical exertion and inadequate fluid intake. However, despite etiology dehydrations, other short terms and long-term complications have often occurred. The long-term effects have been noted to have harmful states on the mental state and decreased academic performances on learning. Further decreased levels of cognitive, visual and psychomotor performances have been indicated based on dehydration effects. This has been linked to neurotransmitter processing effects which are linked to impaired hemodynamic processing which is associated with blood bring barrier changes.
Further, among students, poor attention control has shown fatigue and poor performance while performing psychomotor tasks. Activation of hypothalamic and increased cortisol have been shown to be present and related to impaired functionality. As a basis to guide students in improving their fluid intake, the Institute of Medicine and the European, Food, and safety authority have shown age and sex having a specific adequate intake of water. Based on Institute of Medicine recommendations, intake of about 7 cups or 1.7 litters in a day is adequate for young adults. Intake of at least 2.1 liters is recommended to children aged between 9-13 years. Adult recommendation lies at 2.7 liters for women and 3.7 liters for men.
Physical activity is a factor however in assessing this levels and determining water level intake. The regulation of the water balance in the body is often a complex and dynamic. Disparities have been shown across various populations setting on the intakes. The intake is often influential on several factors which surround the individual person.
Based on social cognitive theory, behavior change such as the theory of planned behavior change, self-attitude and intention are all correlated to behavior change. In order to cultivate my school-based intervention on water intake, there is a need for the adoption of behavior change through simple intervention to assess water intake assessment.
Changing my behavior process entails the adoption of reversal teaching strategy, which is a creative thinking process based on perspective change. In this way changing m new water intake regime was utilized in order to spark more creative change in water intake and physical healthiness. In this way, water intake will be subjected through reversal technique to assess its effectiveness on the body.
As a full-time university student, working casually with physical exercise and social commitments throughout the day it is hard for me to intentionally measure how much water I have consumed. As guided by the Australian Government’s nutrient reference values for women of 19 to 30 years of age, it is recommended that each day 2.1 liters of liquids (approximately 8-glasses) including water, and other liquids such as beverages are to be consumed. I have tried to change an increase in my everyday water consumption with the intention to eventually enhance my overall health and wellness.
With the intention to increase water consumption, employing various techniques s crucial. To get the result from these entire techniques goal was outlined as an outcome of each technique. Each set goal entails drinking 2.1 liters of water each day for 3 weeks. According to The Theory of Planned behavior, drinking a glass of water with each meal often demonstrates behavior and increase water consumption. Therefore, having knowledge of the positive effects of water consumption encouraged me to drink more water.
This self-assessment study will assess my intake of water for a specific period using the reversal method. This is geared towards assessing my learning contraction and its effect on my body. The goal is to assess and create new solutions which could improve my overall water intake in the body.
The design adopted uses the single-subject design study having a reversal process. This method has baseline, intervention and reversal process of which will guide my process. Goal setting of taking liters of water each day for a period of 3 weeks was utilized.
Participant
The experimental study utilized a single subject participant approach.
Materials
The motivation for attaining the individual set goals was achieved by going shopping and increasing the shopping based on the progress and fulfillment of daily goals
Procedure
A goal of consuming 2.1 liters was set in the study experiment was set with an aim of achieving subgoals. The main goal of the activity entailed achieving sub goal daily. Rubber bands were used to keep track of the water I drink, for example, if my goal is to drink 2.1 liters of water each day and the bottle holds half a liter of water and wrap four rubber bands around the water bottle in the morning. Each time water was emptied, the rubber was taken off and the bottle refilled. The goal was to take off all four bands by the end of the day and also play with friends and compete to see who reaches their water goals and who doesn’t.
Data collection was achieved through various methods. Firstly an alarm was used which accompanies the cell phone, being set at several alerts. The alarm was set after every 2 hours, which offers a reminder to drink water. Secondly, water card was created which offers an opportunity to keep track of how much water is consumed, with the amount of water drank being recorded.
Results
After the exercise, the three phases of Reversal process were recorded with a quantity of water and days taken being key aspects. The data was analyzed using means and standard deviations. The results indicate that, at baseline, there was a high intake of water at 5 glasses of water followed by the 7th day. During the intervention stage, there was an increase in water intake with highs of 8 glasses on 2nd 3rd and 6th day. During the reversal stage, an observed level of 7 glasses was obtained during the 6th day followed by 6 glasses of water on 1sts and 4th days.
Mean analysis of the water intake show that the baseline mean of 3.43 glasses with standard deviation was achieved on this period. During the intervention stage, mean intake of 7.28 glasses of water was consumed with a standard deviation of 0.75 while at the reversal stage mean average of 5.57 glasses of water were consumed with a standard deviation of 0.97 was achieved.
Discussion
This individual project on assessment of self-management on water intake shows the effectiveness of adherence in fluid management. Water is an essential element, the latest recommendation has suggested a shift in the normal daily intake of 8 glasses per day. In order to satisfy the need, water intake can be satisfied with increased beverage intake. The results in the study above reveal an increase in levels of water intake during various stages of the intervention. Water intake increased by 7.2 times during the intervention stage as compared to the baseline, while the reversal method indicated lower fluid intake means of 5.5 in a day.
Adequate water intake is beneficial and essential for health. Increase in water intake has often been advanced to 8 cups per day. Origin of this recommendation is at times unclear, (Valtin, 2002), adequate intake of water in young adulthood has often been recommended. The adequate water intake has been set with the median intake being based on the median intake of water. Increase water intake has often been associated with positive associations on intake and weight gain. Various mechanisms have been displayed with increased water gain with weight loss. The underlying mechanism of water intake includes gastric distension, fullness, decreased levels of hunger, calorie displacements and quality of life improvements.
Drinking water refers to intake of safe liquid taken by human beings .drinking water is crucial in managing the body to balance human body fluids, which helps the human body to carry out various human functions. It aids in blood circulation, digestion, body temperature maintenance, and nutrients transportation. The human body consists of a larger percentage of water content. Wtare intake levels can be achieved with intake of at least 2 liters in a water day, (Sun, Auerswald, Wenzel, and Schnyder, 2014). Water intake can be affected through direct methods or through the intake of foods in form of liquids.
Self-adherence of water intake has often been facing various challenges. This has been the main limitation to achieving the daily recommended drinking levels. promotional materials on self-behavior change and advice have been shown to play a crucial role in managing the self-efficiency of drinking water. Studies have shown that use of well-defined messages and telephone counseling for patients facing dehydration has been a key success in managing dehydration effects and none adherence of reaching the required levels of water intake, (Kuhl & Frazier, 2008).
Application of water bottle rating, water pitcher and text messages have been shown to be some of the factors which have been employed in managing the condition. Thus the achievement of 8 glasses per day at times may be good theoretically but hard to implement practically. Further, other environmental barriers and challenges have been shown to have an effect thus compromising the adherence of drinking recommended levels of water.
Studies undertaken in learning institutions among adolescents have shown that a large proportion of the adolescents have reported nonadherence to drink of water. The barriers are linked to limited options of achieving 8 glasses of water per day. Access to water for drinking in these institutions has been shown to have effects on self-efficacy and water drinking habits, (Akers, Cornett, Savla, Davvy & Davvy, 2012).
Water intake among college students is always critical. Schooling often provides ret opportunity where the newly independent young adults can engage in drinking or not drink. Without nutritional guidance, lack of water accurate water intakes can lead to conditions such as hydration. Often many students think that coffee, teas sodas, and other energy drinks offer appropriate hydration, but this beverage gives a feeling of being more thirsty and hydrated. Surveys among college students have shown that the majority have their daily intake of fluids compromised into reaching the recommended standard of 8 glasses per day, (Cowbrough & Llyod, 2003).
Staying hydrated is essential in keeping the body with adequate water. Often students find themselves fatigued easily. This is due to the fact that brain activity mostly is composed of water, so when there is hydration, the bodies can function very well. Water replenishment is essential for boosting cognitive performance and allowing alertness and focuses. Further research has indicated that drinking water during exams period offers a high chance of getting grades compared to those who don’t drink.
In essence, the intake patterns of water among college students are usually low, which is consistent with various studies undertaken. Among the college students often spend large proportions of their time during school hours. This affects the drinking and water consumption patterns. There is a need for adoption of behavior self-management patterns so as to guide in getting used to drinking the recommended daily intake of fluids.
Hence in my case adopting and achieving consumption of 8 glasses of water is key for healthy living. This is necessary in order to alleviate the side effects of hydration and to enable healthy living. Adopting self-management behavior is key in enhancing learning output. Thus setting theory of planned behavior and utilizing enhances adoption and utilization of effective dietary practices.
References
Akers, J. D., Cornett, R. A., Savla, J. S., Davy, K. P., & Davy, B. M. (2012). Daily self-monitoring of body weight, step count, fruit/vegetable intake, and water consumption: a feasible and effective long-term weight loss maintenance approach. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 112(5), 685-692.
Alanazi, Maria, “An Assessment of Daily Plain Water Intake Level and Its Association with Total Energy Intake Among College Students” (2018). Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects. 117.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/etd/117
Cowbrough, K., & Lloyd, H. (2003). A measurement and comparison of the fluid intake in people with and without back pain. Journal of human nutrition and dietetics, 16(6), 403-409.
D’anci, K. E., Mahoney, C. R., Vibhakar, A., Kanter, J. H., & Taylor, H. A. (2009). Voluntary dehydration and cognitive performance in trained college athletes. Perceptual and motor skills, 109(1), 251-269.
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Edmonds, C. J., & Jeffes, B. (2009). Does having a drink help you think? 6–7-Year-old children show improvements in cognitive performance from baseline to test after having a drink of water. Appetite, 53(3), 469-472.
Fadda, R., Rapinett, G., Grathwohl, D., Parisi, M., Fanari, R., & Schmitt, J. (2008). The Benefits Of Drinking Supplementary Water At School On Cognitive Performance In Children: 25. Developmental Psychobiology, 50(7), 726.
Kuhl, E. S., Felt, B. T., & Patton, S. R. (2009). Brief report: Adherence to fluid recommendations in children receiving treatment for retentive encopresis. Journal of pediatric psychology, 34(10), 1165-1169.
Park, S., Sherry, B., O’Toole, T., & Huang, Y. (2011). Factors associated with low drinking water intake among adolescents: the Florida Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey, 2007. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 111(8), 1211-1217.
Patel, A. I., Bogart, L. M., Elliott, M. N., Lamb, S., Uyeda, K. E., Hawes-Dawson, J., … & Schuster, M. A. (2011). Increasing the Availability and Consumption of Drinking Water in Middle Schools. Preventing Chronic Disease, 8(3), 1-9.
Roussel, R., Fezeu, L., Bouby, N., Balkau, B., Lantieri, O., Alhenc-Gelas, F., … & DESIR Study Group. (2011). Low water intake and risk for new-onset hyperglycemia. Diabetes care, DC_110652.
Sun, L. Z., Auerswald, K., Wenzel, R., & Schnyder, H. (2014). Drinking water intake of grazing steers: The role of environmental factors controlling canopy wetness. Journal of animal science, 92(1), 282-291.
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