Staying hydrated is easier said than done for some people. While you might start the day off with all the best intentions, it doesn’t always carry through the entire day, and that flask of water you brought to work as your drink is sitting next to you, going warm, having been swapped for other alternatives or nothing else at all.
What you need are some habits and tips that can help you to stay hydrated throughout the day, regardless of how busy you are. Let’s take a look.
Set a Water Target Based on Your Activity Level
Generic dehydration advice tells you to drink eight glasses of water a day. But that number isn’t applicable to everyone. If you move more, you’re going to need to drink more. If you work in a hot environment, you need more hydration than if you’re sedentary. The best approach is to tailor your intake based on your activity levels, not a standard blanket rule.
A good tip is to track your intake and thirst levels over a few days, doing different activities. Then you can adjust accordingly moving forward. If you’re exercising up your intake, if you’re not, then you might find you don’t need as much, and once you start to see the pattern, you can start to adapt your hydration habits.
Keep a Bottle Within Reach At All Times
One of the best things you can do to help you drink more is to keep a bottle in sight at all times. If you can see it, it will prompt you to pick it up and drink it without having to think about it. If you’re leaving it in your bag, car, or locker at work, then you’ll likely forget about it and stay in the same position regarding your hydration.
If you find that having multiple bottles in different locations works, or having a specific bottle for different activities helps you, go for it, but having one on you or around where you’re spending the majority of your day can be massively helpful here.
Pair Drinking Water With Habits You Already Have
New habits can be really hard to build, but if you already have habits in place that you’re already carrying out each day, pairing a new habit with an existing one can help you build up your hydration without thinking too hard about it.
The trick is to find something you already do and commit to having a drink of water or even a few sips. Let’s say you make a coffee every morning, why not have a glass of water while you wait for the coffee machine to be ready or the coffee to brew? If you work from home, why not take a few sips before you open your laptop each day, then drink every time you complete a certain task or do a specific piece of work?
The pairing, however, will only hold up if the trigger is consistent. If you skip coffee some mornings, then you’ll likely skip that glass of water you’re having first. You need a reliable anchor, something you do every single day without fail to support building new habits.
Use a Marked Bottle
Bottles with marked volume or time markings printed on the side remove the need to guess or count glasses. Fill it once, then the lines tell you how you’re getting on. If there are hour markings, all you need to do is make sure you drink that hour’s worth of water before the house is up. It’s that easy
And if you’re not having to mentally tally your intake or keep track constantly, you’re more likely to find it less of a chore.
Add Electrolytes
Not every glass of water or drink needs to have electrolytes, but if you’re finding yourself dehydrated frequently or you partake in more strenuous activities, then introducing electrolytes at least once per day can be helpful.
If you get a headache that doesn’t ease after drinking, or you experience muscle cramping or lightheadedness frequently despite having had enough to drink, then you might be experiencing sodium or potassium loss, not just low fluid volume. Plain water alone won’t solve this.
Finding the right electrolyte mix is essential here. You might find water with molecular hydrogen, like HydroShot, is right for you, or you might find water infused with nutrients works better for you instead. There’s no one right or wrong answer, just you being able to find what you need when you need it.
Drink Before You Feel Thirsty
Thirst is a lagging signal; by the time you feel thirsty, you’re already mildly dehydrated. Build sipping into your day to ward off dehydration and give your body what it needs before it starts screaming for it.
If you need to set reminders on your phone to do this, then try it and see if it helps. Using one of the tips above can be helpful too. Pairing with an already established habit or using a marked water bottle will help with this. But the trick is to try not to feel thirsty, and with time, you notice you start doing it automatically.
Swap One Other Drink for Water
You don’t need to eliminate all other drinks for water alone. But starting by swapping one drink a day for an extra glass of water is a great place to start.
It can be your afternoon coffee you drink on autopilot or a sugary drink you don’t really want or need. From here, you can easily increase your hydration levels without sacrificing the drinks you do love.
Add Water-Based Foods
You don’t only need to get your water intake from liquids; there are numerous foods that can help hydrate you too. Some great foods to add to your diet to help with hydration include cucumber, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, strawberries, celery, tomatoes, zucchini, and oranges. All these foods are high in water content, and they’re also nutritionally beneficial, so you get added benefits from them.
