Hydration, A Point I Hadn't Heard

My wife's orthopedic surgeon, who took her as a patient with problems others just didn't want to take on, and a senior specialist at Duke U. Med, made an interesting remark when he yawned in a late afternoon appointment, that what he needed was water (not coffee, not Coke, etc.). I'd never regarded hydration as a wake-up remedy, but lately I've been trying that when the afternoon blahs hit, and it works. It's subtle, no nerve jangle, but a good steady input of water definitely renews the alert mind.

I like both coffee and tea, and sometimes they are a lifesaver, like when you have to drive home from the emergency room at three in the morning. Thank you all-night hospital Starbucks. But caffeine is a forced march; it picks you up and then drops you. Water just keeps you going, though sometimes you need the extra artificial jolt.

My wife's orthopedic surgeon is an interesting guy. When an infectious disease doctor said that an antibiotic might mask an infection, the orthopedic man thought a minute and responded, "That would be good." It was both a joke and a valid point. So I was intrigued with the remark on hydration being a remedy for fatigue. Then I tried it and it works. Too little water shuts down your metabolism a little, probably to conserve water -- I surmise. I thought it was kind of brilliant. Also, many docs keep atrocious hours, visiting patients at 6:30 a.m. after a commute, etc., so they know a little something about fatigue and its remedies. If you plan to go to med school, you'd better be in total love with medicine, because it takes over your life, and the usually good pay really locks you in the profession. So if you love it, it's paradise, and if you don't, it's a life of stress, it seems. I'm surprised the hydration-for-fatigue idea hasn't gotten more public attention. I'm watching for this any day in the health columns.