Water Talks — How Daily Fluid Intake and Hydration Influence Stress and Immune Responses

Join us for Water Talks as we explore how daily fluid intake and hydration can influence the body’s response to stress. Drawing on recent research, Neil Walsh will examine evidence showing how habitually low water intake is associated with exaggerated cortisol responses to psychosocial stress, even in the absence of thirst. The talk will discuss potential health implications of chronic underhydration and highlight why hydration should be considered a key, modifiable factor in stress resilience and overall health.

Neil Walsh is a professor in the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Liverpool John Moores University, having spent 19 years at Bangor University. His research examines nutritional strategies to support immune health, heat acclimation and non-invasive biomonitoring in athletes and military personnel, influencing UK military policy on preventing nutritional deficits to enhance performance and immunity. He has published extensively, co-authored a textbook in exercise immunology, and contributed to international consensus statements for the IOC and the International Society of Exercise Immunology. Neil serves on the editorial boards of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise and Exercise Immunology Review and regularly works with elite sport organizations.