Water. It’s the one drink that we need to survive. But, shockingly, not everyone is drinking enough.
But why should you drink so much water? Well, not only is water vital for the detoxing of your body, but it can have lots of great health benefits, including clearer skin and better brain function. Studies have shown that women need to be drinking at least nine glasses of water a day, with men needing to drink 13 glasses a day. Plus, if you manage to drink more than 10 glasses a day you’ll also be naturally lowering your blood pressure, which is definitely a bonus!
Here’s some helpful tips to encourage you to drink more water:
It’s a psychological thing! If you have gone out of your way to buy a nice, fancy, stainless steel, self-filtering water bottle, then you’re more likely to drink out of it. You can make it part of your daily routine to get up in the morning, fill up your bottle, head to work and finish your water. Fill it up again and drink it over the next hour...then repeat for the day! It’s so easy to get into a routine, particularly if your issue with not drinking enough water is that you keep forgetting.
We all know that there is water in food (just look at a watermelon - the clue is in the name), but there are so many other foods that have a good amount of water in them. There’s peppers, cucumber, lettuce, cherries, grapes and so many more. Eating these throughout the day makes it far more likely that you’re getting the right water intake. But, if you cook them, for example cooking the peppers with some spices, you’ll be losing the water within them, and then they lose their goodness. So, if you’re going to eat these water-based foods make sure it’s raw. Also, as an added food tip, make your meal a bit spicy - you’ll be reaching for the water jug in no time!
If the main reason you don’t drink more water is because you don’t like the taste, then this is the tip for you. By adding a few slices of lemon, orange or cucumber, or a few mint leaves, you’ll be changing the taste into something much more enjoyable. Plus, you won’t be adding anything artificial, so you can drink as much as you want without feeling guilty!
Those darn cans and bottles of fizzy drink sure do look appealing when you’re drinking lots of water. We’re not saying go completely cold turkey; everyone deserves a treat every once in awhile. But if you are going to have a fizzy drink, or an alcoholic drink, try to have a glass of water before or afterwards. That way you know you’re still getting the health kick from the water, but the added niceness of your favourite fizzy drink. Also, why not have a glass of water while you’re waiting for the kettle to boil? Making these small changes can have the biggest effect.
It’s a tip that will never leave your side...if you’re always by your phone that is! You can now download apps that remind you to drink some water, as well as making it a bit of a competition for yourself. If you don’t want the hassle of downloading a third party app to help with your water intake, why not set reminders on your phone to go off at certain times in the day. It’s a no nonsense way of reminding you that you need to drink, and that water is the best option.
Ever feel like your 9-5 is killing you? Well, if you spend all that time sitting down, it just might be.
Indeed, numerous studies indicate that the health impacts of continuous sitting cannot be reduced through daily exercise. Even in physically active people, sitting increases their health risks. And this risk has been found to increase with every two hours of time spent sitting.