You’ve heard it time and time again: drink more water! But why? What are some ways hydration helps you? I don’t know about you, but unless it is legitimately warm outside, there are very often many other drinks which sound a lot better than water. Namely: coffee.
But, the truth of the matter is your body loves water more than it loves almost any other substance. In fact, while you can survive without food for an extended period of time, you are in serious, life-threatening situation after 3 days without water.
Needless to say, you should drink up. Here are 3 ways hydration helps you function at your peak.
3 Ways Hydration Helps:
1. It keeps you…regular
Not exactly a topic people love to talk about, but being dehydrated can make it very hard to have regular bowel functions. Most people have experienced that before, and it frankly isn’t much fun. Staying hydrated allows your digestive system to function properly and keep things moving.
2. It improves your mood and your alertness
According to UC Davis, being well-hydrated allows the rapid transport of nutrients to your brain, and toxins away from it. As an organ, the brain is 75% water, so when you’re running low on liquid fuel, your attention is going to be negatively impacted. Next time you’re reaching for that third cup of Joe, maybe reach for the bottle of water instead.
3. It supports your fitness goals
According to this study, acute dehydration has the immediate affect of a 45% reduction in work capacity. What is acute dehydration? Essentially not fully replacing fluid lost during exercise. Had a hard fitness class in the morning and didn’t drink enough the rest of the day to replace that? You can bet on your next day’s workout being worse than expected.
Other reports indicate that just feeling thirsty is a sure sign of mild dehydration and will result in a subsequent reduction of 3% in performance.
So, the next time you think to yourself, “I can go without the water bottle – I’ll just have another coffee/soda/tea/etc,” think again. Water can help you live a more comfortable, productive, and successful life.
