11 Reasons You Seriously Should Be Drinking More Water

Yeah, yeah. You’ve been told many times that you should be drinking more water. Growing up, your mom would insist that you eat your vegetables and drink water. In school you learned about the food pyramid and how many glasses of water you should drink every day. Your doctor has instructed you to drink water on a regular basis.

 

But is it really that important? Why all the fuss? Does it really matter that much?

 

Short answer: Yes!

 

Long answer: If you don’t drink enough water, crazy bad things can happen to your body!

 

What sort of things?

 

Here are 11 reasons you should seriously be drinking more water.

 

Reason #1: To Avoid Death!

 

tall glasses drink water

 

Let’s start with the most obvious reason to drink water: because you’ll die if you don’t!. Generally speaking, the body can’t survive for more than a few days without water. If you’re in a dry environment, the time frame is even shorter.

 

As noted in LiveScience, your body tends to follow the “Rule of Threes”:

 

You can live 3 minutes without air, though we don’t recommend trying. In a harsh environment — it’s snowing, say — you have 3 hours to survive without shelter. After 3 days, you need water or you’ll perish. You can make it 3 weeks without food, though we promise you that won’t be fun.

 

The first and most important reason to drink water is that it is absolutely essential for your body to function. Neglecting water eventually leads to total shutdown of your body and ultimately death.

 

Reason #2: To Maintain The Proper Amount Of Fluids

 

Your body is approximately 60% water. The presence of water in your body is essential for transporting nutrients, maintaining your body temperature, circulating blood, creating saliva and tears, digestion, and a host of other functions.

 

Failing to stay hydrated can lead to significant health problems. In fact, Mercola noted that driving after failing to drink enough water can be as serious as driving while drunk:

 

When you’re dehydrated, you’re more prone to irritability and fatigue. Your cognitive functions, including your ability to concentrate also take a hit, and this can have serious ramifications if you’re behind the wheel. According to a recent study published in the journal Physiology and Behavior, dehydrated drivers made twice the amount of errors during a two-hour drive compared to hydrated drivers. Remarkably, this is similar to driving drunk!

 

 

Reason #3: To Lose Weight

 

scale drink water to lose weight

 

Water is not a magical weight loss tool. No matter what a crazy diet commercials tell you, drinking more water won’t cause the pounds to literally melt away.

 

However water can play a vital role in losing weight. First, you can use it as a substitute for insanely high calorie beverages like soda. Drinking soda is basically like drinking a candy bar. It’s loaded with calories and sugar and almost always leads to weight gain.

 

Drinking water also can fill the stomach and stave off hunger pangs. There’s a reason that dieters have been consuming water as part of dieting for years. The more you have in your stomach, the less hungry you feel. Consuming a large glass of water before a meal can significantly aid you in portion control.

 

Reason #4: To Boost Muscle Performance

 

Failing to drink enough water can cause your electrolyte levels to fall. Lower electrolyte levels lead to muscle fatigue which then leads to poor muscle performance. This is why it’s so crucial for athletes to consume large quantities of water.

 

If you find your muscles flagging too quickly, it may be a sign that you’re not drinking enough water.

 

Reason #5: To Keep Your Skin Looking Fresh

 

Source Of Image No one in this world is completely happy with the way they look. Anyone who says they are is lying to you and themselves. Even models, celebrities and people who are deemed to be the most beautiful people in the world have areas of insecurity. Incredibly, Brad Pitt used to get called ugly, and Meryl Streep was told she would never make it in Hollywood due to her looks. These are not the only celebrities who have admitted to having insecurities about the way they look. Indeed, it’s fair to say that there are a lot of people who feel exactly the same way. However, these days if you have an insecurity about your appearance, you can change it. You don’t have to spend the rest of your life covering up that feature or feeling embarrassed. You can alter it completely, and if you do, you might feel like a brand new person. Let’s look at some of the ways that you can do this. Surgery Credit Pic Source These days, if you have the money and you don’t mind spending a few hours in a hospital, you can change the way you look with surgery. An example of this would be laser skin surgery. As procedures go, this one is fairly simple. Essentially, you cut away the old layer of skin to ensure that new fresh skin develops. It’s useful for people who suffer from skin conditions like Acne. Even if it doesn’t eliminate the issue completely, it will ensure that it is less pronounced. If you constantly feel self-conscious about the way your skin appears due to marks and blemishes this might be the treatment for you. There are other forms of surgery you can look into too. For instance, you might have ears that stick out a little too much. While some people will find this feature distinguished others will be haunted by memories of being called names such as Dumbo and being constantly teased. As such, you might want to look into getting your ears pinned back. This will ensure that they don’t stick out and that if you’re a girl, you can hide them completely behind your hair. For more intensive surgical options, you can have liposuction. A liposuction is an option for people who are unhappy with their weight and tried other possibilities to no avail. Some people find it very difficult to lose weight, and ultimately liposuction becomes one of the only options available to them. During this surgery, fat is removed from the body, often leaving loose skin. As such, another surgical procedure will be needed after this to remove additional skin. The good news is that this can now be completed without leaving behind any scarring at all. Smaller Procedures Credit Pic Source You can make changes to your body and image that are not surgical at all. For instance, you might be unhappy with your smile. This can be a major problem as people often link smiling to confidence. So, if you never smile, people might assume you’re not particularly confident in who you are and what you can offer. As you can imagine, this could ultimately leave a lot of doors closed to you. For instance, if you don’t smile in an interview you're probably not going to get the job. On some level, every role is based on customer service. Luckily, you can get your smile fixed with treatment for your teeth. If you feel as though your teeth are crooked, you can get invisible braces. They will fix your teeth in no time and ensure you have that Hollywood smile. Depending on the state of your teeth, you might be able to fix this within just six months. Or alternatively, you can get your teeth whitened. White teeth are directly related to youth, so if you want to look young and beautiful, you should think about looking into whitening treatments. You can visit Dentistry With TLC for more information or have a look at some of the other companies that offer this treatment online. Teeth whitening is quick and completely pain-free, so there’s really no downside to getting this type of treatment. If you get it every so often through the year, your teeth will always look picture perfect, ready to dazzle anyone that you meet. Posture Image Source You may not realize this, but your stance and how you hold yourself has a definite impact on the way that you appear to others. It can even permanently alter the way your body looks. For instance, if you have a poor posture, your stomach will stick out, and you will eventually develop a pot belly. You might also have a curved back and other features that are not deemed to be unattractive. You can fix your posture with a number of different treatment options. If you have a look online, you’ll see that you can actually train your body for the right posture with a variety of different wearable options. In just a few months, you’ll find yourself walking with a straighter back and stop pushing out your belly. You can even get what are essentially corsets to train your waist if you want that perfect hourglass figure. In Style Credit Source Of course, a different way to alter the way you look would be to invest in beauty treatment. For instance, you could head to a stylist and opt for a completely fresh hair-do. The right style could certainly impact the levels of confidence you have in how you look. It might even change how other people see you. You might think that the styles you can choose are limited by the traits of your hair, but that’s not true. Even people with short hair can get extensions, and a variety of different beauty tricks can make thin hair look thicker. If you speak to a professional, you’ll see that there’s a whole realm of different possibilities on how to completely alter your look. We hope you see now that if you’re unhappy with a particular feature, you don’t have to wallow in self-pity. You can change it.

 

Remember, your body is 60% water. Your skin contains large amounts of water which prevents your body losing excessive amounts of fluid. When you become dehydrated, your skin can quickly dry out and become flaky. You’re also more prone to wrinkles when you are significantly dehydrated.

 

If you want to keep yourself looking youthful and vigorous, be sure to drink large amounts of water every day. If you consume significant quantities of caffeinated beverages such as coffee, you’ll need to drink even more water since coffee is a diuretic.

 

As Randall K. Packer wrote in Scientific American:

 

Drinking alcoholic beverages actually causes dehydration because ethanol depresses the level of the anti-diuretic hormone arginine vasopressin (AVP). As a result, urine volume increases such that more fluid is lost in urine than is gained by consuming the beverage.

 

Reason #6: To Keep Your Kidneys In Tip-Top Shape

 

Your kidneys are primarily responsible for flushing waste out of your body. However, they require significant amounts of bodily fluids to remove waste from your cells and excrete that waste through urine waste.

 

When you become dehydrated, your body is less efficient at cleansing itself from toxins. If your urine is a dark color it’s probably a sign that you probably need to drink more water.

 

Reason #7: To Keep Your Bowels Moving Smoothly

 

Have you ever found yourself sitting on the toilet with a wicked case of constipation? It may have been because you didn’t have enough water in your system. Water keeps things moving smoothly in your gastrointestinal tract and keeps you from getting plugged up.

 

When you don’t have enough water, your colon will begin drawing water from your stool as a way to prevent dehydration. When this happens you become constipated.

 

Reason #8: To Stop Being Cranky

 

drink water to stop being cranky

 

Dehydration can significantly affect your mood, making you feel grumpy and even confused. Plus, when you’re dehydrated your body functions less effectively which can lead to feeling even more irritable.

 

As CNN.com noted:

 

A small study published in the Journal of Nutrition tested mood and concentration in 25 young women who were either given enough fluids to remain properly hydrated, or who became mildly dehydrated by taking diuretics and exercising. The dehydrated women—who were at a level that was just 1% lower than optimal—reported headaches, loss of focus, and irritability.

 

When you fail to drink enough water, your body begins sending signals to let you know that you need to be better hydrated. If you find yourself in an unreasonably irritable mood, consider drinking water.

 

Reason #9: To Minimize Joint Pain

 

Water keeps the cartilage between your joints supple and hydrated. In fact, the reason glucosamine helps minimize joint pain is by increasing the ability of cartilage to absorb water.

 

Staying properly hydrated can minimize aches and pains in your joints. If you’re regularly afflicted by joint pain, reach for water first, before you take the painkillers.

 

Reason #10: To Minimize Headaches

 

It’s a terrible feeling. Your head is pounding and there’s nothing you can do to escape it. Except maybe there is. Dehydration can often lead to headaches. A pounding headache is yet another way your body May signal that it is dehydrated.

 

The next time you find your head throbbing, down a couple glasses of water.

 

Reason #11: To Ensure Your Body Is Getting Proper Nutrients

 

Water is absolutely necessary for circulating nutrients throughout your body. When you don’t have enough water in your system you can’t properly feed your body which can lead to a variety of problems.

 

To maintain optimal health, drink water on a regular basis.

 

Simple Ways To Drink More Water

 

drink water

 

Constantly carry a water bottle around with you. Keep a bottle on your desk, your car, and on your end table. They will serve as a constant reminder to drink water.

 

Use an app to regularly remind yourself to drink water. You could use a simple reminder app, such as the one that comes standard on an iPhone, or an app designed specifically to help you remember to drink water.

 

Set a goal. Ideally, you should be drinking approximately 64 ounces of water every day. If you drink coffee or alcohol, this should be even higher as those beverages tend to dehydrate you.

 

 

Add a small amount of flavoring to your water. Many people don’t like the taste of plain water. A simple way to get around this is to add a bit of fresh fruit to your water. A slice of lemon, a strawberry, or even a slice of cucumber can add a fresh flavor to plain water.

 

Drink a glass of water before every meal. As mentioned above, drinking water before a meal fills your stomach and can help you eat less. This also can be a fantastic reminder to drink more water.

 

Get a smart water bottle that will regularly remind you to drink water. The Hidrate Spark water bottle will track your water consumption and remind you to drink more frequently.

 

Drink carbonated water. If you’re trying to kick a soda habit, carbonated water can be a great alternative. It allows you to still have the fizzy paste while also allowing you to consume more water.

 

Conclusion

 

See, your mom, your doctor, and the food pyramid were right! You should drink more water! Whether you’re an athlete looking to improve your performance or you just want to be happier, water is the key.

 

Now drink up!

 

This article originally appeared here at https://businessconnectworld.com/2017/04/18/11-reasons-to-drink-more-water/ and has been republished with permission.

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