If you want to be in optimal shape, water will not always do the trick. What you need is proper hydration. Here we state ten reasons for you to hydrate.
1st reason to hydrate: Get more energy
If you’re finding that you’re struggling to make it through the day, and that your energy levels seem sapped sooner than they should be, then it might be time to look at your water consumption. Even a slight dip in our hydration levels can have us feeling fatigued [1]. Humans are mostly made up of water; it makes sense that a slight top up will give us that little perk that we need to stay at our brilliant best. Whether you’re in the gym or just going about the taxing business of everyday life, make sure your body is sufficiently topped up. It’ll help you to go longer and harder.
2nd reason to hydrate: Boost Your Metabolism
You wouldn’t expect your body to function as designed if it had too much or too little food. The same principle applies to water. If your hydration levels are where they should be, your insides can function in the best way possible. Which is good news if you’re trying to manage your weight. Studies have shown that there’s a link between water consumption and weight loss [2]. Part of it has to do with water retention (your body holds onto more water when it doesn’t have enough) and part is to do with our perceptions; we’re prone to mistaking thirst for hunger, which means we eat more. If you’ve been trying a range of diets in order to achieve the body shape you desire, think about upping your water intake.
3rd reason to hydrate: staying sharp
If you find that you’re sometimes struggling to concentrate when you’re at work, or studying, reading and so forth, then you’ll want to look at your water intake. A small drop in our hydration levels can have a huge impact on our mental capabilities. Even a liter of water lost through dehydration can have a dramatic effect on cognitive performance. The next time you’re beginning to feel a mid-day slump in your focus and alertness levels, think about topping up your hydration. It may just give you the extra boost of concentration and mental prowess you need to get the job done.
4th reason to hydrate: a Healthy Glow
Our bodies are mostly water, as we’ve said. And everything is interconnected; our bodies are going to reflect what we feed it in, but in the overall health of our bodies and the external look. While it won’t directly give your skin a boost, your hydration levels will make sure that the inside of your body is working as it should. If that’s the case, then your skin will also eventually benefit.
5th reason to hydrate: Sound Digestion
There seems to be some confusion amongst the general public about whether water harms the digestive process, especially after a large meal. The truth is that water is always good for your health, so long as you don’t drink too much. After eating a meal, water can aid the digestive process [3]. This is because it helps to break down the food quicker, which means the nutrients can absorb the nutrients. And as we mentioned earlier, water also plays a preventative role—many digestive issues come from overeating [4]. If you’re fully topped up in the liquid department, then you won’t have that false hunger feeling that causes us to fill up our plates even when we've eaten all we need.
6th reason to hydrate: Keep Headaches at Bay
There’s nothing worse than trying to navigate a busy day—or any day, for that matter—with a headache. Alas, some people just seem prone to getting them. If you’re one such person, then you’ll want to take a look at your overall hydration levels. Dehydration can be a cause of headaches [5], so if you’re starting too many of your days with a pounding head, it may be time to look at your water levels. And not only is hydration an important part of headache prevention; it can also help get rid of a headache once it has set in. It’s easy for a headache to fool us, and think that the cause is something complicated or unknowable. In actual fact, it may just be that our body’s hydration levels are on the low side.
7th reason to hydrate: Remove Your Body’s Natural Waste Products
You might like to think that your body is full of all the good things that you need to live well, but this isn’t the case—it’s also full of natural waste products. These aren’t necessarily harmful, but they will stop you from feeling your best [6]. Staying properly hydrated is an important part of removing your body’s natural waste products. It works in two ways; first, water helps to keep your organs working at full capacity, which means they’re better at repelling and removing the natural waste products. Second, drinking enough water helps maintain healthy bathroom habits, which means you can more easily remove those natural waste products that your organs have swept away.
8th reason to hydrate: Disease Prevention
One of the reasons people don’t stay hydrated as they should do is because the benefits are less clear. They think it’s only connected to thirst, which they can handle. In fact, the insides of our bodies need water to be at their best. If they are, they’re better able to keep conditions such as kidney stones, UTIs, and coronary heart disease at bay.
9th reason to hydrate: Your Mouth Tastes Great
We all feel more confident when we’re going in the world, and especially work and social meetings, and we know that our breath smells good. If this is an issue that you’ve dealt with in the past, then you may want to look at your hydration levels. Most people are familiar with the feeling of a dry mouth. This brings more than a little discomfort: it also makes our breath smell bad, since all the food particles and germs aren’t flushed away as often as they are when the tongue is sufficiently moist [7].
10th reason to hydrate: It’s a Mood Booster
Finally, let’s keep something else in mind: hydration can help boost our mood. On a basic, social life, no-one’s at their best when they lack in one of life’s essentials. Making sure that you’re sufficiently hydrated will help you go forth in life knowing that you’ve got the basics under control. It also turns out that hydration may also have an even bigger impact on our mood, too. A recent study found a correlation between water intake and improved happiness levels; the more you drink, the better you feel. On the other spectrum, people who scored low for hydration were shown to be more tired, confused, irritable, and in an all-around bad mood. Topping up your hydration levels is unlikely to turn a terrible day around, but it might just nudge those bland days into something a little better.
If you’re suffering from any of the issues outlined above, then take a look at your hydration levels. It may be the root cause of the problem, and it’s easily fixed.
References
[1] https://universityhealthnews.com/daily/energy/could-h2o-be-the-answer-to-your-question-why-do-i-feel-tired-all-the-time/
[2] https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/drinking-water-helps-with-weight-loss
[3] https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/digestion/faq-20058348
[4] https://www.mdanderson.org/publications/focused-on-health/What-happens-when-you-overeat.h23Z1592202.html
[5] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317511.php
[6] https://www.huffpost.com/entry/signs-of-systemic-toxin-a_n_1214624
[7] https://www.ahchealthenews.com/2016/07/25/less-common-signs-dehydration/
