The Effect of Small Changes in Hydration on Cognition

Cognition Clinical Trial

Official title:

How do Small Changes in Hydration Influence Cognition: A Mechanistic Investigation

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02671149
• Other study ID #: HYD01
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: September 2015
• Est. completion date: March 2016

Study information

• Verified date: April 2020
• Source: Swansea University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The aim of this study is to determine whether drinking plain water when mildly dehydrated benefits cognitive performance and mood. Volunteers undergo a dehydration protocol designed to result in minor dehydration. While some participants receive two 150ml drinks of water others do not. Differences in cognitive functioning are assessed.

Description:

As an essential nutrient, an inadequate intake of water has negative consequences: without a source of water death will occur in days. When Benton and Young (2015) reviewed the topic they concluded that in healthy adults, mild dehydration (in the range of a loss of 2% body mass) had been found to adversely influence mood and cognition. However, it is unclear at what degree of hypohydration these effects begin to emerge.

This study was designed to determine whether small changes in hydration, of the level that might occur on a day to day basis, influence cognition and mood. During a dehydration protocol (sitting in a room heated to 30 degrees for four hours) young adult participants receive either drink two 150ml cups of water or nothing. Effects on memory, attention and mood are monitored.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 101
• Est. completion date: March 2016
• Est. primary completion date: March 2016
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years to 35 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• In good general health i.e. no major health condition such as diabetes

• BMI < 30

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not on blood pressure medication or blood thinning medication such as aspirin - No learning difficulty such as dyslexia

• Diabetes

• Gastro-intestinal disease

• High BMI

• Cholesterol and BP

• Smoker

• Dyslexic/dyspraxic

• Depression or history of depression or other psychiatric disorder

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Cognition
• Hydration

Intervention

Dietary Supplement:
• Water
Participants will receive two cups of 150ml plain water

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United Kingdom	Swansea University	Swansea	West Glamorgan

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Swansea University

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United Kingdom, 

References & Publications (1)

Benton D, Young HA. Do small differences in hydration status affect mood and mental performance? Nutr Rev. 2015 Sep;73 Suppl 2:83-96. doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuv045. Review. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Other	Amount of weight lost due to dehydration protocol	participants will be weighed at the start and end of the dehydration protocol and % weight loss calculated	180 minutes
Other	Body temperature	Change in body temperature will be monitored throughout	180 minutes
Other	Urine Osmolality	Urine samples will be collected at the start and end of the procedure so that changes in osmolality can be measured.	180 minutes
Primary	Episodic memory - list of 30 words	Participants listen to a list of 30 words presented using a tape recorder. The words are of similar difficulty and matched for the number of syllables and frequency with which they occur in English. The subjects are asked to recall and write down as many words as possible. The difference in the total number of words remembered from baseline (before the intervention) is analysed.	change from 0 to 180 minutes after the start of the dehydration protocol
Primary	Focused attention - Eriksen Flanker Task	The Arrow Flankers test measures the ability to direct attention and ignore peripheral information. Participants are required to indicate whether the middle arrow is pointing to the right or left by pressing the corresponding arrow on the keyboard. Either side of the central arrow are distractors. Both the average reaction times (in milliseconds) and accuracy are recorded. The difference in performance from baseline (before the intervention) is analysed.	change from 0 to 180 minutes after the start of the dehydration protocol
Secondary	Thirst (Participants rate their thirst)	Participants rate their thirst	change from 0 to 180 minutes after the start of the dehydration protocol