Drinking More Water Doesn’t Need To Be Hard

 

Drinking more water is an essential aspect of feeling like your best self, but many people don’t give it the pedestal it deserves within their self-care routines. Drinking more water helps:

 

• Faster exercise recovery
• Weight loss
• Increased cognitive function, better test scores
• Hydrate away the afternoon slump
• Pain-free joints and less stiffness

Why do people have trouble drinking enough water?

If you pee less than four times a day, chances are you aren’t drinking enough water, says an NHS report. On the other hand, a corporate survey by QUENCH found a lot of us say we’re just not thirsty. I wonder how much coffee and soda a day those same people drank? 

 

Our Sugar Cravings Get in the Way

75 percent of Americans are eating way too much sugar. But, unfortunately, when we’re focused on fulfilling our next sugar craving, we aren’t thinking of water, nor are our taste buds. Essentially your taste buds are used to surgery drinks, not water, so it tastes bland, and you don’t want to drink it. If this is you, you need to push yourself to drink water by making conscious decisions to better your body and provide it with the nourishment it needs. 

 

Sometimes We Confuse Thirst for Hunger 

Hunger signals to your brain are more noticeable than thirst signals. Being able to tell the difference between the two signals could help you drink more water. Unfortunately, roughly 37 percent of people regularly misinterpret hunger for thirst. 

 

Hunger feels like a gurgling stomach, a lack of concentration, and nausea. While thirst feels like sluggishness, headaches, increased heart rate, and dry eyes and skin.  

What tips really work? 

Everyone’s different. Challenge yourself to try various reminders or motivation techniques until you find the right one for you. Try setting reminders and motivation like:

 

• Use water bottles that track how much you’ve drunk throughout the day.
• Set reminders on your phone to sip. 
• Use physical sticky notes to give you in your face reminders. 
• Maybe you hate the taste of water. Use healthy flavorings like cinnamon or lemon juice.
• Put a water filter on your tap for crisper, free water. 
• Make water a vital step to achieving your goals. 
• Go on a sugar detox; we bet you’ll find water taster afterward. You’ll even crave it. 

 

 

Side-effects of not drinking enough water 

Many of our day-to-day “not feeling so great moments” can be linked to poor hydration. Unfortunately, 50 percent of U.S. adults aren’t drinking enough water, says New York Post. And ladies, coffee, chai tea, and matcha do not count as part of your water intake. 

 

Headaches, brain fog, and fatigue are only some of the side effects of dehydration. Other icky feelings include dry, dull skin and constipation. You can justify drinking more water however you want (for better skin, more productivity, or a better you) but make it imperative to achieving your goals.