What is Hydration?
While we often think of hydration as simply staying topped up on liquids, scientifically refers to the body’s ability to absorb water and how much water it is getting.
Why is Hydration Important?
Every organ and cell in our bodies requires fluid to perform. This includes maintaining a healthy temperature, detoxifying your body and lubricating your joints. If you don’t consume enough liquid and you become dehydrated you lose fluid around your brain tissue. This will affect your overall cell function and risk your body shutting down. According to Medical News Daily, the human body can only go 3 days without water so you must hydrate.
What Are the Benefits of Drinking Water?
Although it’s a necessity, there are also a lot of benefits to drinking water, for both your body and your mind.
Prevents Infections
We’re often exposed to toxins day to day, which can lead to infections. Water helps to detoxify the body by flushing any harmful toxins out of our systems, keeping us healthy.
Regulates Body Temperature
Our normal body temperature is around 37 degrees Celsius. If you’ve ever suffered from dehydration, you’ll know it often leads to excessive sweating and a high temperature. Water helps to maintain a consistent and comfortable temperature in the body. For more insights, read our post on the benefits of drinking hot water.
Improves Performance
Our brains contain 85% water. Therefore, keeping this level constant allows us to function better. Dehydration can lower cognitive function and mood, as well as increase memory loss. So drink plenty of water to avoid this.
Aids Weight Loss
Water can help minimise feelings of hunger. If you consume water before a meal, fewer calories are likely to be consumed, meaning water can help significantly if you’re dieting.
Relieves Constipation
Lower water consumption often comes hand in hand with constipation. Staying hydrated can help stimulate regular bowel movements. Mineral water, in particular, is beneficial because it contains magnesium and sodium. Magnesium plays a key role in relaxing the muscles in the digestive tract, which can help ease the passage of stool, while sodium helps the body retain water, promoting softer stools and regularity. Together, these minerals can support better digestive health and relieve constipation.
Helps Headaches
Research has shown that headaches are a common symptom of early dehydration. If you’re prone to frequent headaches, drinking water can help relieve them. This is why a big glass of water before bed has also been said to reduce the effect of a hangover the following day.
How Much Water Should You Drink a Day?
The NHS advises drinking 6-8 glasses of fluids a day. If you think this could be unachievable with water, turn to other liquids. Milk and sugar-free drinks, such as tea and coffee, can all contribute towards this.
However, the volume you need to stay sufficiently hydrated also depends on several factors, including your age, your level of exercise and your environment. For example, the older you are, the more water you’ll need and the more you exercise, the more you should drink to replace sweat. For additional tips on staying hydrated during physical activity, check out our guide on drinking water during exercise. This also applies to hotter climates; someone living on the equator is likely to need more water than someone in the Arctic. So be sure to tailor your water consumption to your needs.
To learn more about the best way to consume your water, read our guide: what is the best temperature for drinking water?
Signs You’re Not Drinking Enough
If you’re concerned you’re not drinking enough water for you, there are some tell-tale signs you can look out for which suggests your body needs more liquids:
- Urine colour – If your urine is dark coloured, this suggests you’re not drinking enough
- Toilet frequency – Also if you’re heading to the toilet less than usual, you likely need to drink more
- Feeling thirsty – This seems like an obvious sign, but if you’re noticing thirst, quench it. Thirst is one of the later symptoms of dehydration, so ideally, you should avoid reaching this point.
- Increasingly tired – Again, it’s best to nip dehydration in the bud before it gets to this point, but if your energy levels have taken a dip, drink more water.
How to Stay Hydrated
As well as drinking your recommended 8 glasses a day, there are some other things you can do to ensure you stay hydrated.
Alter Intake for Your Environment
As we mentioned, whether you’re sufficiently hydrated depends on your surroundings. If you’re in a particularly hot area, you’ll likely to need more than 8 glasses. This also applies if you’re exercising.
Avoid Extreme Heat
If the weather is particularly harsh, consider staying indoors in an air-conditioned environment and avoiding the sun between 10 am and 2 pm.
Keep Water Close
We’re all creatures of habit, so we may forget to drink enough water if we don’t have a glass next to us. Always ensure whatever you’re doing you have water nearby. Our water filter bottles are are compact enough to take with you everywhere. For businesses, a mains-fed water dispenser guarantees a consistent supply of clean, fresh-tasting water for employees throughout the day. To discover more benefits, check out our guide on why you should have a water dispenser in your office.
Flavour Your Water
Find water a bit too bland? Add fresh fruits or veggies to your bottle. Lemon, cucumber or mint are classics that make water taste nicer. Even a sparkling water dispenser can be enough to give water that little bit extra.
Eat Water-Rich Foods
Hydration is also found in a variety of foods. Water-rich fruits such as watermelon and strawberries are ideal for topping up your hydration levels, or vegetables such as tomatoes and celery. For more ideas, check out our guide on healthy snacks for work.
If hydration is your main goal, many of our products can help you stay on track and ensure you have access to fresh water constantly. To find out more, visit our consumer guides.
