10 Reasons to Start Drinking More Water Now & How to Do It

For so many reasons, drinking enough water to keep your body hydrated throughout each day is incredibly important and beneficial to your overall well being. It’s definitely something that’s easy to overlook in the midst of a busy life, but if you’re not properly hydrated you’re probably experiencing symptoms without even realizing it. Your body needs water to function well and no, soda and booze do not count!

Eight to ten cups is the daily recommendation for most adults and yeah, that can seem kind of impossible — it’s a lot — and if you achieve it you can definitely expect to need a lot more bathroom breaks but even that’s a good thing! It’ll force you to get up and move more frequently instead of sitting behind a desk for hours on end. Plus, right now, staying hydrated and keeping your mouth and throat from drying out is more important than ever. Keeping hydrated gives your body a headstart at fighting off foreign germs and matter that can enter through your nose or mouth. Yay!wp_*posts

Water Can Help You Maintain a Healthy Weight

If you’re hungry, you’re hungry and you should eat, but sometimes you’re actually more thirsty than you are hungry. Adequate hydration will help you feel fuller faster and will also ensure that your digestive system is able to process the food you do eat more efficiently. By helping you feel satiated on smaller portions, drinking enough water can actually help you consume fewer calories which can lead to weight loss or at least maintenance.wp_*posts

Fill a Bottle Early in the Day

Try getting a giant reusable jug and filling it up with water when you wake up in the morning. Take it with you everywhere — in the car, on the train, to work, to family gatherings and hangouts with friends — and do your best to finish it by the end of the day. If it’s a smaller bottle, figure out how many ounces it can hold and refill at as many times as necessary to get in your eight to ten cups by the end of the day. The key is to bring it everywhere you go — think of it as an accessory like your purse.wp_*posts

Water Can Help You Achieve Clearer Skin

One of the easiest and most effective ways to combat dry skin is to make sure you are hydrating by drinking water each day. Adequate hydration ensures that your skin is hydrated from the inside out, which makes it healthier and more capable of soaking up any moisturizers you apply externally. Water can also help flush toxins out of your pores so your skin will appear clearer, smoother and more vibrant naturally.wp_*posts

Drink A Cup of Water When You Drink Something Else

Whenever you go out and order a soft drink, cocktail, glass of wine, beer or coffee, order a cup of water at the same time. You might be giving double fisting a new meaning, but you’ll also be doing your body a favor. Aim to drink at least eight ounces of water each time you drink another beverage and you’ll ensure that those less-beneficial beverages aren’t crowding out water and the water help your body process the added sugar and caffeine that you might consume more efficiently.wp_*posts

Keep Headaches at Bay

A lot of us are walking around with chronic headaches that are actually a symptom of chronic dehydration and easily remedied without the medications that we tend to rely on so heavily. Sometimes, dehydration headaches can be so frequent and so painful that we actually think they are a symptom of something much worse.  Start by downing some water and see how you feel in an hour or so — you might be surprised. I for one have noticed that whenever I go for a run without being properly hydrated first, I get a massive headache that doesn’t go away until I’ve consumed enough water and slept off the dehydration.wp_*posts

Drink Herbal Tea

If you get bored of drinking the same thing all the time or would like to have a hydrating option with a bit of flavor, decaffeinated herbal tea counts as water. Stock up on some yummy flavors and make yourself a cup whenever you’re craving a more flavorful beverage. I like to have a big mug after I get my kids to bed at night, especially on days I’m to busy to get enough glasses of straight water in during the daytime.wp_*posts

It Can Help With Mental Clarity

Did you know that your brain is about 75-percent water? So yeah, if you’re dehydrated — even mildly — you may struggle with mental clarity, brain fog and lack of focus. Drinking enough water can literally make it easier for you to function, learn, work, and thrive. Plus, the water you consume delivers essential nutrients to your brain and flushes out toxins that can potentially affect your brain function. Pretty important, huh?wp_*posts

Track Your Intake

Lots of fitness apps feature an option to track your daily water intake. Use them! Or if you don’t usually use a fitness or activity tracker, you can even download a simple stand-alone water tracking app on just about any device. Add every eight ounces of water you drink throughout the day to make sure you’re getting enough in. It almost becomes like a game — a competition against yourself — to see how well you can do each day.wp_*posts

Your Joints Will Feel Better

As we get older — not old, just older — our joints become more and more affected by wear and tear making things like high-impact exercise or even just daily walking or standing for long periods of time uncomfortable or even painful. Drinking enough water can actually help lubricate your joints so that you can keep up with your fitness regime and/or the daily physical demands of your life. You will be in less pain!wp_*posts

Make it Taste Better

The “taste” of plain water can take some getting used to for a lot of people. You can ease yourself into it or just give your water a bit of a flavor boost by infusing it with fruit and herbs. A great tip is to fill up a big pitcher with water and sliced fruit/herbs in the morning and try to finish it by the end of the day when it will taste even yummier. Alternately, you can drink flavored sparkling water or seltzer. Just make sure it’s completely unsweetened — that means no real sugar or artificial sweeteners. Sweeteners kind of defeat some of the benefits.