How to Stay Hydrated When You Struggle to Drink Enough Water

22 Mar How to Stay Hydrated When You Struggle to Drink Enough Water

Drinking enough water every day is important for our health, but a recent study in the US discovered that more than half of adults don’t drink enough water because they either don’t track it, are too busy, or just forget. So if you struggle to get the recommended amount of water on a daily basis, you are not alone!

Why Drinking Water Is So Important

Your body is made up of about 60 percent water. It is also constantly losing water through basic bodily functions including breathing and sweating, so it is important to replenish these fluids for your body to perform at its best. Your cells need water, and if your body becomes dehydrated, every function, from digestion to healing, is impaired.

Signs You May Be Dehydrated

• Feeling tired: This is one of the first signs of dehydration. Water is necessary for most enzymatic reactions within the body. Without water, these actions are slowed, causing fatigue.
  
• Changes in your skin: A lack of hydration can cause an uneven skin tone, dullness,  and under-eye circles. It can also aggravate acne prone skin by triggering excess oil production.
  
• Headaches: This is one of the more debilitating symptoms and is most common in people who are so busy during the day that they forget to drink water, people who are heavily perspiring, and people who are sick, especially with fever or vomiting.
  
• Sugar cravings: Dehydration can activate both the thirst and hunger centers in your brain, and combined with the tired feeling that accompanies dehydration, this often leads people to try to satisfy their tired and hungry feelings with sugary snacks instead of water.

How to Stay Hydrated

Set a reminder.

The easiest way to remember to drink water is to utilize reminders. You can use Artful Agenda to set reminders at the beginning of each hour to prompt you to drink water. There are also apps for both iPhone and Android dedicated to reminding you to drink water.

Use a timer.

This is a great way to remind yourself to take a drink at certain intervals throughout the day. You can use an electronic timer, like the one on your phone, or a kitchen timer. If you’re trying not to go more than 30 minutes without drinking, you can set the timer for 30 minutes, and reset it every time you take a drink. This way, the timer only goes off if you haven’t had a drink of water in 30 minutes. It becomes almost a game with yourself to keep resetting it before it hits zero!

Buy a time-stamped water bottle.

These motivational bottles make sure you’re on track to drink enough water for the day without having to chug it! You can find cute ones at places like Walmart and Target, and on Amazon (like here and here).

Replace other drinks with water.

Choose water at times when you would normally reach for another beverage. For instance, if you always have a glass of orange juice with breakfast or like to drink a soda in the afternoon, try forming a new habit of drinking water at those times instead.

Add something to your water.

If you don’t enjoy the taste of water, it can make staying hydrated feel like a chore. To counter this, try adding something with flavor to your water. Infusing your water with fruit and herbs like orange and ginger or cucumber and mint is a way to both enhance the taste and give a little boost to your immune system. For enhancing bottles of water on the go, you can add flavored drops or electrolyte packets that you can keep in your purse or backpack.

Drink other hydrating liquids.

You can stay hydrated by drinking beverages other than simply water. Coconut water, non-caffeinated and herbal teas, and even milk are some of your best options. It is best to avoid drinks containing sugar, alcohol, and caffeinated drinks like coffee, tea, and soda because they all act as diuretics, pulling water out of your cells, which can increase dehydration.

Eat more water.

Plenty of fruits and vegetables have a high water content. By incorporating these into your diet, you’ll increase your daily water intake. Some of the best produce to eat based on their water content are:

• Cucumbers
• Iceberg lettuce
• Watermelon
• Strawberries
• Tomatoes
• Celery
• Spinach
• Pineapple

Artful Agenda Can Help

• Each day has a water tracker that allows you to record your intake to ensure that you’ve had the minimum suggested eight glasses of water a day. 
• You can create recurring daily events with event reminders to tell you how much water you should have consumed by that time of day. 
• Artful Agenda’s meal planning section is a great place to map out meals that include more water-dense produce. 
• A habit tracker is a future feature of Artful Agenda, but until then, read our tips on successfully tracking habits here!

Meet your goal of drinking more water with Artful Agenda!