MensHealth
  • News
  • Health
  • Fitness
  • Sex
  • Nutrition
  • Style
  • Weight Loss
  • Life
  • Podcasts
  • Subscribe
  • Motoring
  • Video
MensHealth
  • News
  • Health
  • Fitness
  • Sex
  • Nutrition
  • Style
  • Weight Loss
  • Life
  • Podcasts
  • Subscribe
  • Motoring
  • Video
Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic
Watch 0:10

Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic

{headline}

{headline}

3 Places Where You Need To Take Your Hydration Seriously

3 Places Where You Need To Take Your Hydration Seriously

Why Hydrating Before, During And Post Workout Will Maximise Your Results

Why Hydrating Before, During And Post Workout Will Maximise Your Results

How Much Water Should You Drink Per Day?

How Much Water Should You Drink Per Day?

9 Dehydration Symptoms That Aren’t Thirst

9 Dehydration Symptoms That Aren’t Thirst

{headline}

{headline}

Anxiety Can Apparently Be A Good Thing, According To Scientists

Anxiety Can Apparently Be A Good Thing, According To Scientists

5 Signs You're Dehydrated That Have Nothing to Do With Thirst

5 Signs You're Dehydrated That Have Nothing to Do With Thirst

Is Sparkling Water Making You Fart?

Is Sparkling Water Making You Fart?

{headline}

{headline}

Australian Teen Dies From Dehydration Preparing For Martial Arts Event

Australian Teen Dies From Dehydration Preparing For Martial Arts Event

The Month You Were Born Could Determine Your Career Title

The Month You Were Born Could Determine Your Career Title

Training One Arm Will Reportedly Boost Muscle Growth In The Other

Training One Arm Will Reportedly Boost Muscle Growth In The Other

5 Of The Best Foods For Your Brain

5 Of The Best Foods For Your Brain

A New Hope For Curing Dementia

A New Hope For Curing Dementia

What To Do After You've Been Made Redundant

What To Do After You've Been Made Redundant

Early Freedom: Here's How To Actually Retire By Age 40

Early Freedom: Here's How To Actually Retire By Age 40

  1. Home
  2. Health

Scientists Have Finally Identified The Real Cure For 3:30itis

You can cure your mid-afternoon energy slump in one simple step - by Scott Henderson
  • 19 Jul 2018
Scientists Have Finally Identified The Real Cure For 3:30itis
Getty Images

Off your game after a long day of working in the sun? Making ridiculous typos after being chained to your desk all day? Or are you just stumbling over your words after spending the day on your feet? Don’t stress too much, we all suffer from a case of 3:30itis every now and then, and researchers have your back, providing a solid explanation for our occasional goofiness.

In what is called a metadata analysis, researchers have combed through the results of numerous studies, and come to the definitive conclusion that dehydration blunts concentration, with the effects manifesting themselves as dopiness in our normal, everyday behaviour.

The team behind the analysis, from the Georgia Institute of Technology, reported that attention, coordination, reaction speed and problem solving were all significantly affected by dehydration.

"The simplest reaction time tasks were least impacted, even as dehydration got worse, but tasks that require attention were quite impacted," said Mindy Millard-Stafford, a professor in Georgia Tech's School of Biological Sciences.

Related: Coffee Is So Powerful, You Don't Even Have To Drink It To Be Awesome

Repetitive, less stimulating tasks were found to be impacted highly in a majority of test subjects relating to the effects of dehydration on cognitive function.

"Maintaining focus in a long meeting, driving a car, a monotonous job in a hot factory that requires you to stay alert are some of them," said Millard-Stafford. "Higher-order functions like doing math or applying logic also dropped off."

According to the metadata analysis published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, cognitive decline occurs when the body loses just 2 per cent of it’s body weight due to sweat or dehydration.

"There's already a lot of quantitative documentation that if you lose 2 percent in water it affects physical abilities like muscle endurance or sports tasks and your ability to regulate your body temperature," Millard-Stafford explained. "We wanted to see if that was similar for cognitive function."

The findings, based on the data from a whopping 6591 studies, indicate a danger for workers, particularly those who spend long periods of time in the sun and operate heavy machinery.

Related: High Protein Diet Is Good For The Brain, Say Science

However, as with all great studies, there is also a frustrating flip side to the research. While hydration and adequate water intake is the obvious strategy to overcome dehydration and the associated drop in concentration, the researchers have also warned workers against over-hydration.

"You can have too much water, something called hyponatremia," Millard-Stafford explained. "Some people overly aggressively, out of a fear of dehydration, drink so much water that they dilute their blood and their brain swells."

  • News
  • Health
  • MH Boss
Scott Henderson
Scott Henderson
Scott is the Editor of Men's Health Australia, where he oversees all editorial content of the country's largest men’s magazine. As a fitness addict, adventure sport lover, and passionate story-teller, Henderson is committed to living the Men’s Health brand.

Subscribe Now-

Subscribe Now
Subscribe Now

Subscribe Now-

Subscribe Now
Subscribe Now

Recommended to you

Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic
Watch 0:10

Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic

{headline}

{headline}

3 Places Where You Need To Take Your Hydration Seriously

3 Places Where You Need To Take Your Hydration Seriously

Why Hydrating Before, During And Post Workout Will Maximise Your Results

Why Hydrating Before, During And Post Workout Will Maximise Your Results

How Much Water Should You Drink Per Day?

How Much Water Should You Drink Per Day?

9 Dehydration Symptoms That Aren’t Thirst

9 Dehydration Symptoms That Aren’t Thirst

{headline}

{headline}

Anxiety Can Apparently Be A Good Thing, According To Scientists

Anxiety Can Apparently Be A Good Thing, According To Scientists

5 Signs You're Dehydrated That Have Nothing to Do With Thirst

5 Signs You're Dehydrated That Have Nothing to Do With Thirst

Is Sparkling Water Making You Fart?

Is Sparkling Water Making You Fart?

{headline}

{headline}

Australian Teen Dies From Dehydration Preparing For Martial Arts Event

Australian Teen Dies From Dehydration Preparing For Martial Arts Event

The Month You Were Born Could Determine Your Career Title

The Month You Were Born Could Determine Your Career Title

Training One Arm Will Reportedly Boost Muscle Growth In The Other

Training One Arm Will Reportedly Boost Muscle Growth In The Other

5 Of The Best Foods For Your Brain

5 Of The Best Foods For Your Brain

A New Hope For Curing Dementia

A New Hope For Curing Dementia

What To Do After You've Been Made Redundant

What To Do After You've Been Made Redundant

Early Freedom: Here's How To Actually Retire By Age 40

Early Freedom: Here's How To Actually Retire By Age 40

MensHealth
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Chris Hemsworth Hugo Boss
  • Terms
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Chris Hemsworth Hugo Boss
  • Terms
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement

Brands

  • Women's Health

Our Network

  • Paragon Media Pty Ltd
© 2021 Are Media PTY LTD
Get more from Men's Health

Magazine Subscription Offer

Subscribe Now-

Shop This Offer
Subscribe Now