Drinking water and staying properly hydrated is key for optimal health and well-being. The recommended amount of water a person should drink each day is around 2 litres. Health professionals recommend having eight 8-ounce glasses of water, which equals out to approximately 2 litres. An easy way to remember how much water you should be drinking is by remembering the “8×8 rule” (8 oz glasses eight times a day).
5 Reasons Why Drinking Water is Important for Your Overall Health:
1. Drinking Water Improves Skin Heath
Dehydration can lead to early-onset wrinkles. Drinking enough water and staying hydrated will not only help prevent this, but it will also help your body get rid of toxins to improve acne and give your skin a more radiant glow. This won’t happen overnight – but within a couple of weeks, you should start to notice an improvement. Dehydration cause also leads to early-onset wrinkles.
2. Water Delivers Oxygen Throughout The Body
Your blood is made up of about 90% water, so it is important to be in taking enough water as your blood carries oxygen to various parts of your body, especially your brain.
3. It Lubricates Joints
The cartilage that is found in the discs and joints of your spine contain approximately 80% water. Drinking water can help to keep the joints mobile. Dehydration for extended periods of time can lead to excessive joint pain due to the lack of water reducing the joint shock-absorbing ability, potentially leaving you in tremendous pain.
4. It Acts As A Cushion
Water acts as a cushion for the brain, spinal cord, and other sensitive tissues. Water is largely involved in the production of hormones and neurotransmitters. Being dehydrated can affect your brain function as well as your physical brain structure. Extended dehydration can lead to issues with thinking and reasoning.
5. Drinking Water Regulates Body Temperature
As you sweat and your body starts to heat up, the water that is stored in the middle layers of your skin will come to the skin’s surface. As the water exits the body through perspiration, it helps to cool your body down. Some studies have shown that when there is a lack of water in your body, heat storage increases making it harder to tolerate heat and heat strain on the body. Taking in the proper amount of water can potentially reduce physical strain from exercise that caused your body heat strain. It is extremely important to replace the fluids in your body when you sweat as you are losing a lot of water.
We know it can be quite difficult to drink eight glasses of water a day – we have compiled a few tips to drink more water and actually enjoy it.
Tips for Drinking More Water
1. Add Lemon or Lime Slices
Adding lemon or lime slices can help you drink more water as it adds some flavour. It is also a great source of vitamin C, helps with digestion and reduces constipation.
2. Use An App To Track Your Water Intake
There are apps for smartphones that you can track how much water you drink within the day. This makes it more fun to drink water when you get to add it to an app and visually see how much water you drank throughout the day.
3. Get A Colourful Fun Water Bottle
Surprisingly enough, studies have shown that getting a colourful and fun water bottle makes you more likely to want to drink from it more often.