A Water Bottle Might Be the Most Underrated Stress Tool

You Should Know: Here’s a new stress tip you probably have not heard before, and it has nothing to do with breath work or journaling. A recent study in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that how much fluid you drink may influence how your body responds at the hormonal level.

The Study: Researchers recruited 32 healthy adults aged 18 to 35 and divided them into two groups based on fluid intake. After monitoring them for a week, all of them completed the Trier Social Stress Test. They discovered that the low-hydration group had significantly greater cortisol spikes. And they reported no increased thirst, despite urine markers confirming dehydration.

The Takeaway: The researchers surmise that under-hydrated people may be walking around with a stress system that’s primed to overreact. That’s because vasopressin, a hormone that holds onto water when you are running low, also activates the pathway triggering cortisol.

Keep in Mind: This study was small and covered only a limited age range, so the results may not reflect the experiences of everyone. But there’s no harm in aiming for two liters of fluid a day to help lower your stress levels.