In light of World Water Day, we at ScreenMe decided it was appropriate to help you to hit your water targets with a few tips! 

Why is water so important 

Despite knowing the many benefits of water and proper hydration, we as a society are chronically dehydrated, with a recent survey by Britvic highlighting that 62% of people in the UK admitted to not drinking enough water. The National Hydration Council recently published the finding that 13% of women do not drink the recommended daily water intake, with this rising to 20% in men. 

Some of the benefits of water include: 

• Digestion 
• Weight management 
• Absorption of nutrients 
• Kidney & liver functioning 

In reality, water helps with just about every bodily function — so it really is vital! 

Signs of dehydration 

Chronic dehydration has a range of symptoms, which may be causing you trouble without you realising. These include: 

• Headaches 
• Persistent hunger 
• Fatigue or dizziness 
• Dark urine 
• Dry mouth, lips & tongue 
• Constipation

How much water do I need?

The general rule of thumb is roughly 11.5 cups of water per day for women, and 15.5 cups for men. 

However, this will vary according to a range of factors such as: 

• Exercise
  • You lose a lot of water through sweat when you exercise, so on days that you exercise, increasing your water intake, and having water with you while you work out is crucial.
• Weather
  • While it is hard to imagine hot weather at the moment, when it gets hotter, it is easy to forget that we must increase the amount of water we drink. 

How can I increase my water intake? 

We understand that remembering to drink enough water every day can be difficult and/or boring — so we have compiled a few tips and tricks to help you to get into a good routine. 

Make a habit

• Establishing a routine can be difficult at first but tying drinking water in to your daily habits is the best way to make sure you drink enough water in the long term. 
• Attach drinking a glass of water with specific parts of your routine for example: 
  • Just after you wake up 
  • Before you start each meal 
  • Just before you brush your teeth 
  • Before leaving the house in the morning 
  • Just before bed 
• You don’t need to choose all of these, but associated drinking water with things that you do every day, will make sure that you drink a minimum amount of water every day. 
• Tying in drinking water with just before a meal is also a good way to prevent overeating — as much of the time we think. We are hungry, but in fact we are just dehydrated — so this will assist with weight management. 

Flavour your water (naturally)

• We need to be careful with this part, as there is the temptation to flavour water with large amounts of squash, or even substitute it with sugary drinks, energy drinks, juices, etc. 

• We aren’t saying that you cannot have these drinks, but just that these are better in moderation and not something to rely on for your daily water intake. 

• An easy and healthy way to flavour your water is to add some slices of fruit such as lemon, orange or cucumber to your water to make it more interesting! 

• You can even alternate your drinks — say to yourself you can have a glass of orange juice, if you drink 4 cups of water before! 

Drink tea 

• Tea can also be a brilliant way to increase the volume of water that you drink. 

• Tea, in particular herbal teas, also have a range of other health benefits such as: 

• Peppermint — digestion, anti-inflammatory, nausea 

• Chamomile — sleep, liver protection, anti-inflammatory

• Lemon — weight management, energy, mood

• Ginger — digestion, energy, immunity 

Set targets

• For the competitive among us, setting targets and goals can be a good way to increase your water intake. Strategies may include:
  • Marking lines on your water bottle as to where you need to get to at which point in the day 
• • Marking on your calendar each day whether you have hit your target or not 
  • Comparing results with a friend to keep yourself on track 

Purchase a reusable bottle 

• By buying a reusable water bottle, you are making a commitment to yourself to drink more water each day. Simply bringing the around with you and having the option to drink from it, will increase your water intake.

•  We recommend a water bottle that is free from BPA and EU approved. 

• For example: the Frank Green bottles are a great buy! 

Eat your way to your goals 

•  By eating foods with high water content, you will be able to increase your water intake without even realising it! Foods with high water content include: 

• • Watermelon — 91% water 

• • Courgette — 95% water 

• • Lettuce — 96% water 

• • Cantaloupe — 90% water 

• • Tomatoes — 95% water 

• These foods are more often than not also packed full of vitamins and nutrients, that will improve your overall health and wellness simultaneously! 

For more information on how you can optimise your health & wellness, then book a consultation with one of our experts! Or, if you want tailored nutritional advice for your body, then check out our Nutrition & Wellness Packages! 

Jessica Hobbis