Drink Water!

How much water should you drink each day?

We are constantly pushing our Cozy Living Community Team to grow professionally and personally. Surprisingly our latest self- care challenge was water. Our managers felt that they were not getting enough water intake and wanted to make it their next healthy lifestyle change. During this process, we identified why water was so important. Here is what we learned.

1. Water Protects your tissues, spinal cord, and joints.
   Water is responsible for many of the body’s normal functions such as regulating body temperature, protecting body organs, moistening mucus membranes, lubricating joints, dissolving nutrients and minerals, and carrying nutrients and oxygen to cells. It’s contained in lean muscle, fats, and bone.
2. Water Helps Your Body Remove Waste.
   Adequate water intake enables your body to excrete waste through perspiration, urination, and defecation. Water helps your kidneys remove waste from your blood and keep the blood vessels that run to your kidneys open and filter them out.
3. Water Aids in Digestion.
   Drinking water during or after a meal helps how your body breaks down and
   processes food. This is also known as digestion. Water and other drinks help break down food so that your body can take in (absorb) the nutrients. Water makes stool softer, which helps prevent constipation.
4. Water improves skin complexion.
   Water keeps your body hydrated and refreshed and helps maintain your skin’s elasticity. People who drink large amounts of water are less likely to suffer from scars, wrinkles, and soft lines and they won’t show as many signs of aging as those who drink little amounts of water.  As you grow older, it is tougher for your body to retain water, so by inputting more water into your system, you are helping your body and your skin stay hydrated.
   5. Water Helps with Brain Function.
   Water makes up 75% of the brain. Research shows that dehydration decreases memory, attention, and energy. If you are experiencing brain fog, try taking a sip of water. Adequate electrolyte balance is vital to keeping your body functioning optimally. Low electrolytes can cause issues including muscle weakness, fatigue, and confusion.

Water consumption, as we all know, is extremely important because our body weight is made up of about 60% of it. The human body can last weeks without food, but only days without water. Unlike camels, our bodies cannot store water, we need a fresh supply every day. This is to make up for the water loss through sweat, breathing, and digestion. Therefore, rehydrating by drinking fluids is necessary for one’s health and survival. The amount that we need depends on our body size, metabolism, the weather, the food we eat, and our activity levels. The first step to calculating your daily water intake is knowing your weight. The more you weigh the more water you should drink. Since our body weight is about 60-67% water, the next step is to multiply your weight in pounds by 2/3 or 67%. For example, if you weigh 175 pounds you would multiply that by 2/3 to determine your daily water intake of about 117 ounces of water. Next, you should adjust your number to your activity level. As previously mentioned, you expel water when you sweat. Add 12 ounces for every 30 minutes that you work out. For example, if you work out for 45 minutes, add 18 ounces to your daily water intake.

According to experts in a recent study, drinking just 2 cups of water (which is smaller than the size of a bottled soda) before meals helped dieters lose an extra five pounds yearly and helped to maintain their weight loss. Additionally drinking the right amount of water daily can speed up your metabolic rate and help to curb overeating when your body is confused with hunger and thirst. We know what you are saying. Drinking water is easier said than done. Here are a few tips that can help you become successful during your water challenge.

• Drink 2 cups (16 oz) of water before every meal: Science has proven that drinking 2 cups of water before every meal helps you to eat less during mealtime and lose weight. If you do this three times daily – at breakfast, lunch, and dinner – you have already consumed 48 ounces of water.
• Morning and Night: Get into the habit of drinking one glass (16 oz) of water when you wake up and another 8 oz glass before you go to sleep every night. This will add another 24 ounces of water to your daily intake. The easiest way to do this is to keep a glass or container of water at your bedside, that way as soon as you wake up and start your day, you can begin drinking water.
• Keep Track by Your Container: One thing that has proven to help people consume enough water daily is to buy a special container for their water and set a goal of how many times they will fill and finish the container. For example, if you buy a 16 oz container and need to drink 80 ounces of water a day, your goal would be to drink 5 of those per day. If you still to drink more water? Try a larger container.
• Infuse Your Water with Flavor: Water doesn’t have to be boring and infusing your water with fruit, herbs, and other flavors can make it much easier to reach your daily goal. Try adding cucumber, strawberries, lemons, limes, and fresh herbs to create flavorful water.
• Bubbles: Consider carbonated and sparkling water in addition to regular water. Many people find that adding sparkling water and 0-calorie flavored water makes drinking water throughout the day more fun. Find yourself drinking lots of expensive sparkling water. Consider buying a SodaStream and make your own delicious sparkling beverages at home.

References

Lust, Beth (2014, February 7). How to Calculate how much water you should drink a day. WKU News. Retrieved from www.wku.edu on December 26, 2022.

Migala, Jessica (2020, August 25). Seven Benefits of Water backed by Scientific
Research. Everyday Health. Retrieved from www.everydayhealth.com on
December 26, 2022.