Sodium Serum Sodium
The salt in your blood, which sets how much water your body holds.
What it measures
The main salt in the fluid around your cells.
Sets how much water your body holds and where it sits; a real shift affects brain function before anything else.
Why it matters for how long you stay well
Your body defends this number very tightly, so a level that drifts is usually a message about fluid, medicines or hormones rather than about the salt on your plate.
How it shows up in daily life
A low level can leave you foggy, tired or unsteady, and it is more often about too much water than too little salt.
High and low readings
When it reads high
Usually not enough water rather than too much salt.
When it reads low
Too much plain water, heavy sweating, or certain medicines.
What moves it
Daily life
- how much water you drink, including drinking far too much
- heavy sweating
- alcohol
- vomiting or loose motions
Medicines known to shift it
- diuretics (can lower it)
Listed so a result can be read in context. It is not advice to start, stop or change any medicine; that decision belongs with your physician.
Common questions
What does Serum Sodium measure?
The main salt in the fluid around your cells. Sets how much water your body holds and where it sits; a real shift affects brain function before anything else.
What does a high Sodium result usually mean?
Usually not enough water rather than too much salt.
What does a low Sodium result usually mean?
Too much plain water, heavy sweating, or certain medicines.
What is the usual reference range for Sodium?
A broad adult reference band is 135–145 mmol/L. Labs differ, so read your result against the band printed on your own report.
Educational only, not a diagnosis. A single number means little without your history and the rest of your panel, so discuss your own results with your physician.
Typical adult reference band
- Adults
- 135–145 mmol/L
Labs differ. The band printed on your own report is the one that applies to your result.
Reported in mmol/L, mEq/L
Worth knowing
Your body guards this number so closely that it adjusts the water you hold rather than the salt itself.
Have a report with this marker on it? Read it in context.
Upload it to Oraia, our health-intelligence tool, for a plain-language read of your markers that a Genoryx doctor can review.
Your biological age is a number you can measure.
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