Are you Drinking Enough Water?

Keep reading to learn why drinking enough water and staying hydrated is important for overall wellness.

Our bodies are composed of 60% water. Staying hydrated is important for maintaining this balance to ensure we are feeling our best. It’s often easy to forget to drink enough water while going about your busy schedules. Keep reading to learn a bit about why drinking water is important and tips for how you can stay hydrated every day.

We all know that drinking water is necessary for our bodies to function properly. But we often wonder just how much water we should be drinking. According to Healthline, the answer ultimately comes down to: it depends. There are general guidelines that suggest individuals should drink 8, 8-ounce, glasses of water per day, but each individual’s personal health has an impact on how much water they should drink. To read more about this, check out Healthline’s article here.

Benefits to Drinking Enough Water

• Helps to maximize physical performance. Water helps your muscles and joints work better by keeping them lubricated.
• Drinking water impacts energy levels and brain function. Your brain is strongly influenced by your hydration status, so making sure you are drinking enough water is important for staying alert and motivated all day long.
• Staying hydrated may help prevent and treat headaches.
• Water also keeps your body cool and regulates your body’s temperature.
• Drinking water also boosts skin health. When someone is dehydrated, their skin is less elastic. Drinking enough water helps the skin to be more supple.
• Water also helps to cleanse the body.

To read more on the above points, check out the following sources: Healthline, Medical News Today, and One Medical.

Tips for Staying Hydrated

If you struggle with drinking enough water throughout the day, try some of the following tips for staying hydrated:

• Add flavour to your water. Sometimes having a little extra something in our water glass can make staying hydrated that much more enjoyable. Next time you are filling up your bottle or glass, add in some fresh fruit and herbs for added flavour. Some options to try out are strawberries and lime, lemon and blueberries, mint and watermelon, or classic lemon.
• Make it a habit that every time you take a bathroom break, drink a full glass of water.
• Keep a full water bottle near by. Make it easy on yourself to drink water throughout the day.
• Next time you are craving a sugary drink like juice or pop, have a sparkling water instead!
• Buy yourself a fun new water bottle to drink out of. If you have already tried this and now have a cupboard full of water bottles, go digging in your own stash! There is most likely one you like that you can use there.
• Make an effort to eat foods that are rich in water. For your morning and afternoon snacks add in cucumber, watermelon, zucchini, grapefruit, strawberries, and celery.
• Get a water bottle that is marked with how much you’ve had to drink. This will allow you to easily keep track of how much water you’ve had throughout the day. It will also keep you motivated to drink the whole water bottle!
• Set reminders to get up and move throughout the day as well as drink water! Take 5 minutes every couple of hours to refresh by having a nice cold glass of water and stretching.

Thanks to Self for some of the above tips!

Take care of yourself with a Personal Health Plan from Saskatchewan Blue Cross. A Personal Health Plan offers coverage for Health Practitioners such as massage therapists, physiotherapists, naturopaths, and acupuncturists.