Oh, believe me, I perfectly know how obvious it is to say, “drink more water.” We all know that you have to drink 1.5 liters of water a day, at least.

But unfortunately, different sources, statistics, or researches have shown that a lot of people are unaware of this, and only between 5% to 10% of those who are aware of it do drink 1.5 liters of water a day. Please note, I am talking about plain water, not tea, coffee, soda, or other kinds of beverages.

At this point, you may wonder what does water have to do with our productivity?

Well, around 2/3 of our body contains water. When we sleep, our body dehydrates. In the morning, the blood is usually thicker. It is no coincidence that the heart attacks generally happen in the morning because of the heart struggle with pumping blood.

Also, the right amount of water in the body stimulates our digestion and metabolism. It means that we can eat well, and everything we eat digests better, unwanted elements excreted, and valuable absorbed.

Do you know that lack of water may contribute to a headache? You can test it yourself when you have one, before you reach for any painkillers, very slow drink a glass of water. In my opinion, it is not worth taking medicines when you really do not need it.

I also want to mention that water is involved in the work of our kidneys, liver, intestines, and heart. It reduces the risk of a heart attack. Water improves your mood, memory, and concentration.

Do you know how to drink water?

Here are five tips you should follow:

1. Drink with small sips, but often. When you study or work, you can always have water next to you and drink it regularly, with small sips. Hydration is essential for brain function. Many of us drink water badly – when we are thirsty, we quickly swallow one glass at a time. In this case, unfortunately, water will pass through us immediately, and you will have to run to the bathroom. Again, we should drink water slowly and allow the body actually to hydrate. If you would like to make it easier for yourself, you can set the alarm every hour or two while working to have a micro-break. Stand up, stretch yourself, look outside the window at some green nature, drink some water, take a few deep breaths, close your eyes for a moment, and then go back to work.

2. Drink before going to bed. You will support your cardiovascular system and prevent dehydration during the night. Also, there is one, maybe not so obvious benefit, you might wake up earlier in the morning because of your full bladder… 😉 In case that you wake up in the middle of the night, drink some water again before falling asleep.

3. Drink right after you wake up. You might have heard from different sources to add a few drops of lemon, mint, or ginger to the water. To be honest with you, I can’t entirely agree with these theories because it might not be right for everybody as some people might have certain health conditions, autoimmune disease, or simply wants to lose weight. In these cases, water with lemon, mint, ginger, or juice informs the body that the food process began, which releases insulin, and the appetite increases so you might eat even more and along the way gain some extra kilograms. That is why it is essential you drink plain water, not herbs, coffee, tea, or juices. If you have any health conditions, please consult it with your doctor.

4. Drink before meals. Your stomach will fill up a little, and thanks to that, you won’t be greedily eating dinner. At the same time, be careful! If you drink water too quickly and too much at once (remember, small sips), it might dilute a gastric juice, and this will worsen your digestion, you might get flatulence, and your body will feel overloaded.

5. Drink water at room temperature. Different research has shown that very cold water badly affects our hearts. Don’t put yourself at risk even if you are in your twenties or thirties. I understand that when it’s above 30 degrees outside, hot water doesn’t taste quite lovely, but it hydrates the body way better than cold water, straight from the fridge with ice cubes.

Generally, you need to observe how it works for you, as we are all different, and what works for me might not be the best for you. Do not blindly believe in all sorts of tips over the Internet, do some research yourself, and as I said it before, please consult everything with your doctor.

What water is the best?

It turns out that there are a lot of recommendations on how much minerals and in which proportions water should have. Also, some sources recommend even drinking tap water because it meets all standards. However, in my opinion, that depends where you live and if the building is new or not. Maybe the tap water is ok, but pipes it flows through it might be not ok, so be aware.

HOMEWORK

Write in the worksheet you downloaded and printed:

“Immediately after waking up, I drink a glass of water.”

Every day monitor your progress in this topic. Start by drinking water in the morning. This simple habit will thin your blood, improve your circulatory system’s functioning, and give you more energy, resulting in increased efficiency. When you are ready, add to your worksheet:

“Every evening, I drink a glass of water slowly before going to bed.”

If you don’t have the worksheet yet, you can download it below and read the full article here.

Cheers,
Eva