The Importance of Hydration: Tips for Staying Properly Hydrated

Introduction:

Hydration is replacing water in the human body that has been lost. Someone might speak of being well-hydrated, meaning there is plenty of water in their body. Dehydration occurs when there is an inadequate amount of water in the body. In this case, the body needs to be rehydrated. Your body needs to be hydrated to function at its best. If there isn't enough liquid in your body, essential functions like circulation don't perform as smoothly and your organs won't get necessary nutrients, resulting in less efficient performance.

 

Reasons why Hydration is important:

Improved brain performance:

Even mild dehydration as little as 2% fluid loss can affect memory, mood, concentration, and reaction time. Adding just a few glasses of water to your daily intake can have a positive effect on cognition, stabilize your emotions, and even combat feelings of anxiety. This is especially important for older adults who are at higher risk for both dehydration and impaired cognitive function.

Digestive harmony:

Your body needs water in order to digest food properly. Without enough, you may experience irregular bowel movements, gas, bloating, heartburn, and other discomforts that can hurt your quality of life. When you make it a point to stay hydrated, it can help get things moving in the right direction again. Water aids in breaking down soluble fiber from your diet to keep your digestion process on track. Mineral water is especially beneficial look for products enriched with sodium and magnesium.

More energy:

Dehydration can slow down circulation and affect the flow of oxygen to your brain. A lack of fluids can also cause your heart to work harder to pump oxygen all throughout your body. All of that expended energy can make you feel tired, sluggish, and less focused. When you stay hydrated by drinking more H2O, you will prevent dehydration and have more pep to get you through the day.

Weight loss and weight management:

Since it provides a sense of fullness, water can help you feel satisfied in between meals—instead of heading to the snack cupboard. It can also help boost your metabolism.

One study of women with excess weight found that drinking additional glasses of water before each meal resulted in substantial reductions in body weight, body mass index, and body composition.

According to another study, adults who upped their water intake by just 1% consumed fewer calories. They also reduced their overall intake of sugar, cholesterol, sodium, and saturated fat.

Another analysis found that increasing daily water intake, replacing caloric beverages with water, and drinking water before a meal all led to weight loss averaging 5%.

Better temperature regulation:

Research shows that when you're dehydrated, your body stores more heat. This in turn lowers your ability to tolerate hot temperatures. Hydrating with plenty of water helps you produce sweat when you're overheated during activity, which in turn cools your body down. This built-in cooling mechanism is critical in preventing heat stroke and other potentially deadly heat-related conditions.

Fewer headaches:

Even a mild fluid loss can cause the brain to contract away from the skull, leading to headaches and migraines in some people. Staying hydrated may help keep head pain in check.

Tips for staying Hydrated:

Drink more water:

The simple fix to staying hydrated is to drink more water. But you can stay hydrated in other ways, too.

Milk and tea are other options to drink. Milk is especially good for rehydration because it contains vitamins and minerals that help refresh your cells. Even sparkling water can rehydrate you. But, it’s important to look at the nutrition label and ingredients list of sparkling waters as some may contain caffeine and added sugars, which may be something we want to limit, Hope said. Black coffee is another option, but in moderation. Coffee contains caffeine which means it increases the production of urine. Most research suggests that when you drink it in moderation about 1 or 2 eight-ounce cups of brewed coffee the liquid balances the dehydration effect. If you’re drinking more than 3-4 eight-ounce cups of coffee, you may become dehydrated due to the diuretic effect from the caffeine.

Add electrolytes to your water:

Electrolytes work with your cells to help balance the fluid in your system. When you work out, run, play sports, or spend a day out in the sun, you are likely to sweat out more fluid. Electrolyte drinks, like Gatorade, Prime hydration drink and Liquid I.V. Hydration, can help to replenish the fluid in your body. However, these drinks are usually high in sugar, so you should limit drinking them to when you need to replenish fluid after sweating.

Avoid alcohol, soda and sugary drinks:

These kinds of drinks can dehydrate you quickly. That’s why you may crave water or have a dry mouth the morning after drinking alcohol. If you’re experiencing a stomach bug or other illness and can’t keep liquids or food down, you can try to eat popsicles or ice chips. It usually takes about 15 minutes to an hour for your body to absorb the liquid and rehydrate.

Eat water-rich foods:

Fruits and vegetables are high in water. Choose foods like lettuce, cabbage, watermelon, berries, pineapple, spinach, zucchini, celery and cucumbers. However, this is not enough to meet your daily fluid needs, so you still need to drink water.

Apply sunscreen to skin:

The sun zaps your skin of hydration and dries you out. The more you can protect your skin, the better hydrated you will stay.

Conclusion:

Staying hydrated is very important for our overall health and well-being. We need water to survive, it is one of the primary nutrients required to sustain us. With an understanding of the mechanisms governing the water balance and the key physiological activities of water, a sedentary adult should drink 1.5 liters of water per day on average. This can ensure that the body stays hydrated and functions. Hydration is the replacement of body fluids lost through sweating, exhaling, and eliminating waste.