Your bladder and kidneys need water to function. Initially, your kidneys slow sending water to your bladder which is why your pee turns dark. Then you start losing water in your blood to keep organs functioning but the decrease in blood volume causes your blood pressure to drop. This makes pumping blood increasingly difficult for your heart so your body will start sending less blood to your organs. This starts damaging all your organs and eventually your kidneys stop filtering your blood. Toxins build up in your brain that’s already not getting enough blood and eventually shuts down and you die.
Ask Science
Ask a science question, get a science answer.
Community Rules
Rule 1: Be respectful and inclusive.
Treat others with respect, and maintain a positive atmosphere.
Rule 2: No harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or trolling.
Avoid any form of harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or offensive behavior.
Rule 3: Engage in constructive discussions.
Contribute to meaningful and constructive discussions that enhance scientific understanding.
Rule 4: No AI-generated answers.
Strictly prohibit the use of AI-generated answers. Providing answers generated by AI systems is not allowed and may result in a ban.
Rule 5: Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.
Adhere to community guidelines and comply with instructions given by moderators.
Rule 6: Use appropriate language and tone.
Communicate using suitable language and maintain a professional and respectful tone.
Rule 7: Report violations.
Report any violations of the community rules to the moderators for appropriate action.
Rule 8: Foster a continuous learning environment.
Encourage a continuous learning environment where members can share knowledge and engage in scientific discussions.
Rule 9: Source required for answers.
Provide credible sources for answers. Failure to include a source may result in the removal of the answer to ensure information reliability.
By adhering to these rules, we create a welcoming and informative environment where science-related questions receive accurate and credible answers. Thank you for your cooperation in making the Ask Science community a valuable resource for scientific knowledge.
We retain the discretion to modify the rules as we deem necessary.
As water level decreases, the total amount of sodium stays the same. So, essentially it is increasing in concentration. Too much salt interferes with heart cells’ ability to contract together. So less water = more salt = less heart coordination.
Cardiac arrhythmia due to hypernatremia and hypovolumenia can be fatal. There are many changes that occur, but the effect on the heart will kill ya.
This was the response I got from Perplexity.ai.
The tl;dr is from there, too:
Dehydration can lead to death through mechanisms such as organ failure, blood thickening and reduced blood pressure, electrolyte imbalance, brain swelling, shock, and build-up of cellular waste.
Electrolyte imbalances and upset balance of salts and sugar can cause impaired cellular function, heart problems, neurological issues, kidney damage, and shock, ultimately leading to death.