Worldwide Water Education

April 18, 2012

Could Drinking Water Improve Test Results?

In the Project WET activity "Aqua Bodies," participants learn that the human body is 60 to 70 percent water--and that staying hydrated is one way to stay healthy. The importance of hydration has been emphasized for quite some time on sports fields and and gyms, but people don't often think about how hydration affects performance inside the classroom. Now, according to the BBC, scientists in the United Kingdom have release the results of a study that indicate that having water available during exams can boost performance:

Students who bring water into the examination hall may improve their grades, a study of 447 people found. Controlling for ability from previous coursework results, researchers found those with water scored an average of 5% higher than those without.

While drinking water is obviously no substitute for studying hard, researchers say that encouraging students to have water during exams could be an easy, low-cost way to see improvements. "Future research is needed to tease apart these explanations, but whatever the explanation it is clear that students should endeavour to stay hydrated with water during exams," said Dr. Chris Pawson from the University of East London, one of the universities involved in the study.

To teach kids about healthy hydration, visit the DiscoverWater.org "Healthy Water, Healthy People" lesson.