Why Should You Drink Water?

If you stopped drinking water right now, you wouldn’t last for very long, and this is because water is, besides air, the most important thing that is keeping us alive. But while you might think that the worst that can happen is a dry mouth until you get your next cup, it’s actually much more serious, and we all need to pay attention to how much we are drinking. So, let’s see the benefits of drinking enough water and why you absolutely mustn’t skip it.

Lubricates the Body

Your body isn’t made out of stone and all of your organs are sort of hanging out in the same part of your body. Not to mention, all of those processes that are happening inside of you need to run smoothly. None of that is possible without water. It helps us produce saliva, allowing us to chew and digest food and it lubricates our joints so they can move properly. In fact, joints are the first thing our bodies draw water from when we are dehydrated, leading to joint and back pain.

Wakes You Up

When we experience even a 2% drop in water levels in our bodies, we begin to feel the symptoms of dehydration. Primarily, that means feeling drowsy, struggling to focus, not being able to do basic math, and having difficulty reading small print. The first symptoms are mostly mental because the organ that depends the most on water is the brain, which is made up of 95% water. Drinking plenty of water will help you stay awake and alert, not to mention help you focus on your tasks and complete them sooner, with fewer mistakes. So if you are feeling a bit sleepy even after a full night’s sleep, ask yourself when was the last time you drank a cup of water.

Regulates Body Temperature

You might think that warm weather makes you thirsty because you’re craving something cold, but actually it’s asking for water because of one of the basic processes in your body: sweating. When our body is overheating, it sweats to cool off the skin and regulate body temperature. And sweat is mostly water, ergo: you are spending more water on cooling yourself off. This is why, when you are going hiking in the summer or going anywhere warm without immediate access to water, you should bring a reusable 2 liter water bottle with you to make sure you have plenty to drink and that you can refill it with fresh, cold water when you reach a checkpoint. But don’t drink water that’s too cold, because that can be a shock to your system.

How to Drink Enough Water

There is that arbitrary “eight cups per day”, but there is no actual proof that that is exactly what your body needs. The fact is, everybody is different and requires different amounts of water, but one thing is for sure: you want to hydrate yourself constantly. Don’t force water down your throat, but keep sipping it from a bottle or glass whenever you remember. If you are feeling signs of dehydration – you’re already behind. The goal is to never get to that point. Always have a water bottle with you so that you can drink water on the go, and if you know that you will be in one place for a while, place a clear container of water in front of you to remind you to drink. If we have a straw or a bottle right there next to our mouths, we will drink without even thinking about it.

Proper hydration is key to living a healthy life, so make sure that is the one thing you are always paying attention to. Drinking enough water keeps your body functioning properly.

Do you drink enough water?