Knowing how to drink more water will help you keep your hydration on point during the hot months of summer.
In this article:
- The Importance of Drinking Water
- Dangers of Dehydration During Summer
- Tips for Staying Hydrated
The Importance of Drinking Water
Everyone enjoys a summertime dip in the water, but did you know that your body is made up of 70% water? Every cell, tissue, and organ in your body needs water to function correctly.
For example, your body uses water to maintain its temperature, remove waste, and lubricate joints.
Drinking water prevents dehydration of your cells and tissues. It also makes absorption of water-soluble vitamins easier.
Dangers of Dehydration During Summer
According to a study, losing as little as 2% of water can affect your physical performance. Then again, athletes can lose more by sweating when they train.
During summer, you sweat more, putting you at a bigger risk of impaired performance. Losing water can make you dizzy, develop headaches, and lose focus.
Doctors also recommend drinking more water to patients suffering from constipation since it improves metabolism. It also helps flush out kidney stones.
It’s important to stay hydrated during the summer since the heat makes you sweat out the water from your body.
Although drinking more water benefits the human body positively, many find the task too tedious. If a person isn’t a big water drinker, sweating excessively during the summer may prove dangerous to their health.
Not enough hydration during the summer’s unnaturally high temperatures may also cause heat stroke.
Tips for Staying Hydrated
How can you drink more fluids during the summer? Here are some tips to increase your water intake at the time of the year you need it most.
1. Get Fluids from Other Sources
Water is best, but other drinks and foods can help you stay hydrated. Try herbal tea or water-rich fruits and veggies such as watermelon, tomatoes, and lettuce.
Add zucchini or cucumbers to your daily meal to increase your fluid intake. They contain 95% to 96% water. As for fruits, grapefruit also has high water content.
2. Re-Hydrate Often
Drink water before, during, and after exercise.
You lose some of your body’s water content when you sweat during an activity. Make sure you bring a water bottle with you to the gym or when you run to keep you hydrated.
You can also drink coconut water to replace the electrolytes you lost from excessive sweating. Do not drink energy drinks since they contain artificial sweeteners and can be high in sodium.
3. Invest in Reusable Water Bottles
Keep a reusable water bottle with you at all times – car, bedside table, or office desk. This way, you won’t have to lug one bottle around with you. Plus, having a nice new bottle specifically for drinking water can motivate you to stay on track.
Keeping a reusable water bottle in the places you frequently go to also protects the environment. That’s because you don’t have to keep on buying bottled water whenever you need to drink some.
4. Drink Water in the Morning
Start and end your day with a glass of water. Drinking 16 ounces (about 500 ml or 2 glasses of water) upon waking up improves metabolism by up to 30%.
According to a study, the increase in metabolic rate started as soon as 10 minutes after drinking and reached its peak after 30 to 40 minutes.
5. Drink Instead of Eat
Feeling hungry? Drink water.
Sometimes the sensation of thirst is confused with hunger. And research suggests drinking water may assist in a healthy weight loss plan.
If you need to eat, try to incorporate as much water-rich fruits and vegetables into your meals as possible. Do not eat sweets when you feel hungry as this may drastically increase your blood sugar levels.
6. Skip the Soda
Drink water when you go to a restaurant. Not only does it keep you hydrated, but it’s also free!
Though it’s tempting to pair a great meal with a cold glass of soda or juice, both beverages are filled with artificial sweeteners. Opt for sparkling water instead.
7. Use a Water Consumption App
People who don’t normally drink water find monitoring their water intake a tedious chore. Most of the time, they end up not reaching their water consumption goals.
To help you monitor your water intake, download water consumption apps. There are various apps you can download for free.
Here are some water apps you can try to help you drink more water:
Daily Water tracks your consumption and sets alarms to remind you throughout the day.
The Waterlogged app lets you customize your schedule of drinking water throughout the day. You can also determine the amount of water you drink.
8. Drink Water When You Use the Bathroom
When you urinate, you lose fluids, so you need to rehydrate every time you go to the bathroom.
9. Drink Infused Water
If you find water too bland to keep drinking through the day, infuse it with lemon, cucumbers, or mint to give it some flavor. You will not only be keeping yourself hydrated, you will be ingesting the nutrients from these fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
Add ice cubes into the drink to keep you even cooler during the summer.
10. Reward Yourself
Since you’re setting a daily goal, you should also give yourself a reward whenever you hit that goal.
It can be as simple as treating yourself to your favorite coffee beverage at the end of the week or buying the gadget you’ve been eyeing after a month of consistently hitting your daily goal.
Whatever your reward is, it can motivate you to drink more water. This way, you’re giving yourself something you like and improving your health at the same time.
Are you drinking enough water? How much water are you supposed to drink a day?
Recommended daily water intake varies, but a reasonable goal is between 6-to-8, 8-ounce of water or other fluids each day. If you’re not sure if you’re drinking enough water, check your urine, which should be colorless or light yellow.
If it’s dark yellow or orange, that means you need more fluid in your body.
Do you know more tips on how to drink more water during summer?
