There are so many reasons why drinking water is important to your health. The body is made up of approximately 60% water, so it comes as no surprise that water assists with many bodily functions. These include:
- helping to absorb and transport nutrients throughout the body
- flushing out bodily wastes
- lubricating tissues, joints, mouth and eyes
- helping to regulate body temperature
- boosting skin health
Drinking enough water each day can be challenging, especially for those of us who don’t normally make it a priority. That’s why we’ve collected a few tips below to help you reach your goal of staying hydrated!
1. Divide and Conquer
If your goal is to drink 8 cups of water a day, divide it up into smaller portions throughout your day to make it easier and less daunting. Set a timer and drink a cup every hour or hour and a half. If you have a big refillable water bottle, use a sharpie to create marks about 2 inches apart from each other. Make it a goal to drink to each mark every half hour or so until you have finished off 2 full bottles. Another way you can slowly drink water throughout the day is to take 2-3 big gulps every time you send a work email, check your phone or go to the bathroom. Tie it to anything you do frequently, to ensure you reach your water-drinking goals.
2. Make it FUN!
There are so many ways to make drinking water more fun, you won’t even realize you’re trying to increase your water intake! If you don’t like the flavour of water, add your own flavour. This can be done a number of different ways, like adding mint leaves, cucumber and lemon slices to your water, or purchasing water enhancing flavour drops. If you’re a soda lover, invest in a Soda Stream to add some sparkle to it!
If you like the refreshingly clean taste of H2O but need to make it a little more exciting, think outside the box. Add in fun-shaped ice cubes to your water (and flavour them while you’re at it), buy a water bottle that changes colour with temperature, drink out of a crazy straw, fill your fanciest wine glass with water, whatever you need to do to feel bougie as you make every sip of water count!
3. Use an App
If you’re still really struggling despite breaking down your water-drinking to smaller chunks, or making it more exciting, it may be time to reach for an app for a bit of assistance. Here are just some hydration apps that can help:
Daily Water Tracker Reminder is one to download, as it allows you to set your daily water intake goal and then log every ounce (or milliliter) with just a tap. You can also see your progress after every glass to see how close you are to reaching to your daily goal.
Hydro Coach is a great hydration app, as it will remind you when it’s time to drink up, and it can even be customized if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding.
Plant Nanny2 is one of the cuter hydration apps, as it not only reminds you to drink water throughout the day and tracks you water intake, but each glass also waters your virtual plants in the app! The more you drink, the more your plant garden thrives!
Regardless of what you do to help you reach your water intake goals, the important thing is to stick with whatever works for you. Good luck and stay hydrated!
