We all know that adequate hydration is important for our overall health, but sometimes it can be hard to get those ounces in! If you always feel like you need to force yourself to get enough water, don’t despair! Check out these 5 tips to help stay hydrated as the weather warms up.
Coffee/Tea Counts
While caffeine is a diuretic, recent studies have debunked the idea that coffee or tea doesn’t “count” for hydration. Obviously, drinking too much can still impact your health—whether from caffeine jitters or from added sugars—don’t stress out about your morning coffee or afternoon cup of tea messing up your hydration! Fizzy water counts, too, so if adding some bubbles will help you out, go wild! (However, try to avoid any beverage that is high in sugar)
Sip Throughout The Day
There’s not much worse than getting to the end of the day realizing you haven’t had any water, and trying to guzzle as much as you can before bed. The easiest way to get enough water is to make sure you are drinking all day long. For some people, this means using a straw. For others, it might require their favorite glass or mug. Try a few things and see what works for you!
Add flavorings, if that helps!
Maybe that means you have a bottle of water right next to your glass of juice and you alternate between the two. Maybe you have a bottle of lemon or lime juice to squeeze into your water glass, or flavoring for your bubbly water. Especially if your tap water doesn’t taste that great, adding a little flavor boost can make hydration feel like less of a chore.
Rubberbands on your water bottle!
This is a common trick among athletes. If you have a big water bottle on hand that you refill from the tap or the water cooler, calculate how much water you want to drink in a day and then divide that by the volume of your water bottle. If you want to drink 150 ounces of water a day and your water bottle is 1.5 liters (that’s around 50 ounces), you need to drink 3 bottles of water. Get three rubber bands and wrap them around your water bottle when you fill it up to start the day.
Whenever you empty and refill your bottle, remove a rubberband. For people who like competition, this can be a great way to get yourself to drink water. As a bonus, it also helps you see where you’re at for the day—if it’s 6pm and there are still 3 water bottles, you know you haven’t been drinking enough water!
Any temperature is okay
If it’s warm, keep your refill in the fridge and swap them out (or add ice!). If it’s cold, consider room temperature or even hot water. A bonus to this: you can hold a warm mug in your hands, which makes you more likely to drink!
Want more tips for your health, plus massage, dry needling, and chiropractic services? Contact us for an appointment at Progressive!