Water plays a vital role in many of your body’s processes, from promoting cell and tissue health, regulating blood pressure, maintaining electrolyte balance, getting rid of waste, and ensuring optimal health. Yet, despite its importance, not all people score ample H20 for their bodies, as they find it challenging to drink up more water every day.
If you’re guilty of the same, don’t fret, as it doesn’t need miracles for you to increase your daily water intake. Ahead, we’ve listed some of the best and fun tips that you can take to drink more water every day.
Have a daily goal
Setting goals is proven to elicit new behaviors and fuel a person to achieve whatever it is he or she wants. That can also do wonders when you’re aiming to drink more water. Simply having a target on your daily water intake can motivate you and make positive changes in your habits.
Set reminders
If you’re a busy person, be it from school, work, or other duties, it might be hard finding the time or remembering to drink. An excellent solution would be setting reminders to alert you of your need to drink more water. Set these reminders every 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on schedule, and be surprised how it can significantly increase your water intake.
Insert it into your routine
Are you preparing lunch on a Sunday? Sip water from time to time while you cut those ingredients. Reading a chapter from your favorite book? Bring a glass of water and drink it as you go through the pages. Playing your favorite fantasy-adventure video game? Drink that water as the action heightens. No matter what you do, try to make drinking water a part of the activity. Soon, it will be automatic in your routine.
Add spice to your foods
Spicing up your dishes with peppers or hot sauce is an unconventional yet tasty way to drink more water. Eating spicy food makes you and your tongue feel hot, forcing you to cool down by chugging lots of water and boosting your water intake.
Flavor your water
If water’s plain taste doesn’t entice you, you can undoubtedly add flavors to trigger your appetite. You can purchase water enhancers online, which come in a multitude of flavors. However, most of these are artificial and contain chemical additives and sugar that can be bad for your health if not taken in moderation. If you’re looking for natural ways to enhance your water, you can resort to fruit infusions instead. Just immerse your desired fruit in water for a refreshing, healthy drink.
Eat water-rich foods
Getting more water doesn’t mean you need to chug water every now and then. A good hack is eating more foods that have high water content. When you go to the supermarket, look for fruits and vegetables, such as cucumber, celery, zucchini, watermelon, grapefruit, and cantaloupe, all made of 90% water. Aside from hydrating yourself, your body also benefits from the minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants provided by these foods.
Bring a reusable bottle
Reusable water bottles are not only good for the environment but also in encouraging you to drink more water. By having one, you can get quickly drinking water at your home, school, or work without having to buy those in single-use plastic bottles. Plus, a reusable water bottle seemingly acts as a physical reminder that you need to double up on your intake. Once you see it on your bag, table, or desk, chances are you’d be enticed to sip water.
Refill right away
Get up and fill your glass or bottle back up as soon as you empty it. Through time, you’ll get used to it and instinctively refill it. Thus, ensuring there is available water anytime that you wish to drink. And, you’ll most likely be drinking more water when you see that the container is full.
Buy cool reusable straws
Using a straw allows drinking to be “smoother” and “faster.” It’s a fantastic way to bring fun in the process of hydrating yourself. However, steer away from disposable plastic straws. They are bad for the environment and are flimsy. Go reusable straws instead, such as those made of steel or bamboo, which are durable and as well as sleek, and elegant.
Eat salty snacks
You might be surprised, but munching on a few pretzels or peanuts can help increase your daily water intake. Wondering how? Well, the thirst center of the body gets triggered when you eat salty food. It sends a signal to the brain to consume more water to dilute the salts in your bloodstream – now you know why you keep gulping water when you eat more sodium.
Takeaway
Those are some of the best tips that you can follow to keep drinking more water each day. Adapting them to your habit may be an infeasible task, but remember all the incentives water can bring to your health and use it as your motivation. Then, don’t forget to celebrate when you reach your daily, weekly, or monthly goals. Reward yourself with anything small or big that can push you into drinking more water!