How many ounces of water do you drink in one day?
64oz, 8oz, or none?
Drinking enough water is important to staying healthy and feeling your best. However, if you can’t remember the last time you had a glass of water, you should pause reading right now, get some water, and hydrate.
How many times have you gone all day without drinking any water?
If this sounds way too familiar, read on for eight tips on how to drink more water that will help keep you hydrated throughout the day.
But first, let’s explore the importance of drinking water.
Why It’s Important to Stay Hydrated?
Did you know that drinking enough water each day is vital for many reasons?
According to Harvard Health, it regulates body temperature and keeps joints lubricated. It also prevents infections because of its ability to deliver nutrients to cells in your organs. On top of all this, being well-hydrated improves sleep quality, cognition, and mood!
With so many benefits, it’s essential to get in the habit of drinking enough water daily.
How Much Water Should I Drink?
Some might say that drinking half a gallon to one gallon of water a day is the key to staying hydrated, but do not drink that much all at once!
According to the National Academy of Medicine, an adequate intake of daily fluids is about 13 cups for men and 9 cups for women (about 8 fluid ounces per cup). This can be consumed by drinking water and other healthy beverages.
Drinking half your body weight in ounces can be an easier way to know how much water you should be drinking.
For example:
A person weighing 160 pounds would drink 80 ounces of water because half of 160 equals 80. That’s 10 cups of water with one cup equalling 8 ounces.
Different factors affect how much water you need to drink daily. You might need to drink more water if you are active, live in an area with hot temperatures, are sick, or breastfeeding.
If you are unsure about how much water to drink in those conditions, try increasing your water intake by one or two cups from your base amount.
How Do You Know If You’re Drinking Enough Water?
There are many ways to tell if you’re drinking enough water.
By asking yourself these questions, you’ll have an idea of how hydrated you are:
- How often do I empty my bladder?
- How moist does my mouth feel?
- What is the color of my urine?
- Do I have dry skin, cracked lips, or dark under-eye circles?
Depending on your answer to the questions above, you may or may not need to drink more water, but you should still drink more just in case.
Keep these facts in mind:
- Your daily vitamins can affect the color of your urine
- If you smoke, you might experience a drier mouth than normal
- You might sweat more if you live in a hot climate
- Some medications can make your urine darker or lighter than normal
- Sometimes your hunger pangs mean you’re thirsty and not hungry
Ways to Tell If You’re Dehydrated
- Your skin or lips is rough, flaking, flushed, or cracked
- Your mouth or tongue feels dry or sticky
- Your urine has a dark yellow to amber color
- You’re constipated
- You’re tired even though you got adequate rest
- You feel tense, anxious, or depressed
- In extreme dehydration, you may experience nausea and dizziness
How Can I Drink More Water When I Don’t Like It?
You may not like the taste of water but your body loves it! It needs water to continue to work at its best.
Your body is made up of about 60% water, so if you’re not drinking enough of it, your system can’t perform properly.
If that’s still not convincing to you, how does clear, healthy-looking skin sound?
That’s right, in order for your skin to not look old, haggard, dry, and ashen, you need to drink more water. Drink a glass of water every hour on the dot while you’re awake, and you’ll easily make your count for the day.
You may do unhealthy things on a daily basis, so what’s stopping you from doing something beneficial for your health?
How to Drink More Water
Use these tips to increase your water intake, especially if you don’t like drinking water:
1. Start Your Day With One to Two Glasses of Hot or Cold Water
This is an easy way to drink more water by making a habit of drinking it as part of your morning routine.
You can start with ice-cold water, which will wake you up and give you energy!
Or, you could start with hot water or tea to help warm your body up and hydrate your inside, so you’re ready to face the day.
Whichever way you choose is entirely up to you. Give yourself an advantage and start early to get all your glasses of water in before the day ends.
2. Drink a Cup of Water Before Every Meal
When you drink a glass of water before your breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, you’re reducing the chances of you overeating.
How?
A recent study showed that people who drank water before their meal ate less food. It is not clear why this happens, but it might be a good way to control weight.
From experience, drinking water before my meals made me feel more full in less time and reduced my food intake. I find it easier to drink water before a meal since after I finish eating, I’m already full.
A full stomach makes it harder to drink water because there’s less room for anything else. The same study showed that the longer you wait after eating before drinking water, the greater the chance of feeling thirsty.
Avoid thirst and drink water before your meals so you can be hydrated while you eat.
3. Buy a Reusable Water Bottle and Bring It Everywhere
Nothing saves you more from dying of thirst than a full water bottle in your bag. Buy a reusable water bottle and bring it with you everywhere.
Having your own water bottle will help you to stay on track with how much water you’re drinking throughout the day. Water bottles help keep you hydrated.
If you buy a big enough water bottle, you’re subconsciously challenging yourself to increase your water consumption.
If you have a water bottle that can’t be refilled, then buy one! You’ll save money in the long run.
4. Flavor Your Water
Even though I find a cool glass of water insanely refreshing on a hot summer day, most people would rather have something with flavor.
The benefits of water are endless, but the best part is that it can be flavored to taste like anything you prefer. Adding fruits and vegetables like oranges, strawberries, and cucumbers can be a great way to add flavor to your water.
Don’t want any fruit flavor?
Then try adding mint or lemon for an entirely different taste.
How about cucumber water with some lime juice mixed in?
You’ll find that when you drink flavored water, it’s easier to remember how much water you’ve consumed because of the size of the pitcher. Plus, the taste will remind you of your goal and keep you hydrated throughout the day!
Tip: Use a straw whenever you add any acidic foods to your water to protect your teeth from damage.
5. Set an Alarm or a Reminder
No matter how thirsty you are, sometimes it’s hard to remember that you need to drink more water.
Set alarms and reminders on your phone or put up a sticky note near the kitchen sink with the time when you should be drinking another glass of water and see if it helps.
If none of these work for you, download and use an app. Hydration apps like Hydro Coach, Water Minder, and Daily Water Tracker Reminder are all free for you to utilize.
The goal is to increase your daily water intake, so do not ignore the alarms or the apps when they’re reminding you to drink water. They’re making it easier for you to drink a small amount of water in increments instead of gulping down a ton of water in a short time.
Remember, drinking lots of fluids is good for your health, and it will keep you hydrated all day long.
6. Avoid Sugary Drinks
According to the CDC, drinking sugar-sweetened drinks causes weight gain, obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cavities, tooth decay, kidney disease, and more health problems.
If you’re used to drinking soda, ice tea, or any other sugary drink, it can be difficult to resist them when you’re thirsty. But if you value your health, you need to develop a plan to eliminate sugary drinks from your daily intake.
Sugar has been found to be very addictive because there’s a release of dopamine in the brain, which can make you feel good for a little while but causes major health problems after those feelings wear off.
Just like any addiction, you must wean yourself off it if you want to live a healthy life.
Start by replacing one sugary drink with a bottle of water per day and increase your water intake as you go until all the sugary drinks have been replaced.
Be stern with yourself but gentle. If you failed one day, try again the next day. Going cold turkey hardly works.
7. Eat More Hydrating Foods
To get as much fluid in your body as recommended, your only choice isn’t just drinking tons of water. Incorporating hydrating food will help you reach your target amount.
Hydrating Fruits and Vegetables Include:
- cucumber
- celery
- tomatoes
- watermelon
- spinach
- strawberry
- soy milk
- cantaloupe
- broccoli
- peach
- orange
- pineapple
8. Drink a Glass After Every Bathroom Break
When you drink enough water, it’s natural to use the bathroom often. This is not a reason to avoid drinking water. Your body is a complex mechanism that needs the correct ingredients to work properly.
Water is a vital ingredient that will keep it running in tip-top shape.
Drinking a glass of water after using the restroom, can help flush out toxins and waste from your digestive tract. Toxins and wastes that can lead to urinary problems or constipation!
This is one of the easiest ways to get water in your body.
Worried About Drinking Too Much Water?
This is a natural response, but don’t worry. How much water you need depends on your age and activity level.
Unless you’re consuming ridiculous amounts of water, like more than three gallons per day, you’ll be alright.
If you’re still worried, talk to your doctor and figure out the best water intake for your body!
9 Reasons How a Small Glass of Water Can Improve Your Day
- Quench your thirst and boost your energy
- Flush out toxins in the body
- Improve skin complexion
- Prevent headaches and migraines
- Decrease stress levels and promote relaxation
- Reduce soreness from exercise or lack of sleep
- Banish confusion
- Boost your brain power
- Improve your concentration
Don’t Let Dehydration Disrupt Your Life
It’s important to drink enough water each day because it helps you stay healthy and have more energy.
The truth is everyone has different needs for their target amount of daily fluid intake depending on age, weight, activity level, and other factors, such as environmental or personal.
You must understand your body so that it works as best as it possibly can.
Drinking plenty of fluids will help you feel less stressed while boosting performance at school or work by improving concentration levels and brain function.
From sparkling water to fruit-flavored water or drinking from a straw, getting every ounce of water your body needs during your waking hours can be achieved simply by taking one sip at a time.
How do you ensure that you intake enough fluids every day?
Consuming enough water is definitely something most people struggle with. I am a fan of flavoring water naturally and appreciate the reminder that foods are also a source of water.
Hi Scout, thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Flavoring water naturally beats adding artificial flavors or sugar any day. I’m glad you found the article helpful! Thanks for reading!
absolutely needed this reminder this morning to start drinking more water! thank you for the tips on flavors because I am not an avid water drinker and get dehydrated often!