Five hacks to better hydration
How great is water! You can bathe in it, swim in it, cook with it and drinking it gives you a whole host of health and wellbeing benefits. Topping up your hydration is vital to the way in which your body operates. Many of us are guilty of forgetting to drink water, but if you’re even so much as 1% dehydrated, your mental perceptiveness declines. In a sporting context, performance goes downhill when that dehydration reaches 3%, which doesn’t seem like much but it could be what gets between you and your next personal best!
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Keep your cooler clean for great tasting drinking water[/caption]
How much water?
To prevent dehydration, you need to drink adequate amounts of water. There are many different opinions on how much water you should be drinking every day. Health authorities commonly recommend eight 8-ounce glasses, which equals about 2 litres. This is called the 8×8 rule and is very easy to remember. NHS experts advise that we should be drinking at least 1.2 litres of water which is roughly six to eight glasses a day.Help to hydrate
It can be a challenge to remember to keep topping up your hydration quota, and very easy to forget to drink. So we’ve come up with five hacks to ramp up your hydration game.- Use an app to track your progress. There are many free online apps to help track and analyse your water consumption, and even remind you to drink your drink with alerts throughout the day, so no excuse to forget.
- Make it a sparkling. Some say water goes down a whole lot better when it’s fizz. Invest in a plumbed water cooler in the workplace that dispenses still and sparkling, chilled and filtered. Add cordial or fresh fruit, mint and herbs and its tastes like a mocktail! Chilled water tastes so much nicer and is more appealing than room temperature for a lot of people.
- Alternate wine with water. When out for dinner or socialising, alternate your alcoholic tipple with a glass of water. Not only does it help achieve your daily intake it reduces the alcoholic effect the next day and staves off the dreaded hangover.
- Infuse your drink. Bored with the lack of taste? Spruce it up with fruits, vegetables or herbs. Serve it in a jug with some ice or if you’re off to the gym, grab a water bottle and keep it refilled.
- Eat your water. Hydration doesn’t just come in liquid form. You can top up your H2O levels by eating water-rich foods such as celery, cucumbers, apples, watermelon and soups.
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Which other water sources are best?
Water intake includes all sources from plain old drinking water, hot beverages and food. Be careful as certain fluids have some drawbacks. For instance, juices, sodas, and smoothies can be hydrating, but they can also be high in sugar and calories. Coffee and tea provide water, too. But, they also contain caffeine, which can make you lose more water when you urinate. Most healthy people can safely drink about 2 to 4 cups of coffee each day. Scale back if it makes you feel anxious or jittery. Alcoholic drinks contain water, too. But like caffeine, they actually cause you to lose more water through your urine that can lead to dehydration. Sports drinks have high water content. They also contain carbohydrates and electrolytes, which can help you absorb water and keep your energy levels up. During intense workouts, they help to replace salt lost through sweat but be careful as many also contain lots of extra calories, sugar, and salt. Check the nutrition label. Pay attention to the serving size, and limit how many you drink. Energy drinks are different from sports drinks. They contain sugar, as well as stimulants, like caffeine often in high doses. Many doctors recommend that children and teens avoid them.Reduce and reuse
If your location and premises allow then go for plumbed in hydration points in the office to refill reusable bottles and save buying pointless single-use water and high sugar drinks in bottles. Good for you and for the environment reducing waste and landfill. More and more offices are installing refill drinking water stations for this very reason to cut pollution. Water coolers are great in offices and corporate environments. Fountains and dispensers are perfect for high footfall public areas serving chilled and filtered water that is pristine. [caption id="attachment_2388" align="aligncenter" width="463"] Keep your cooler clean for great tasting drinking water[/caption]