Chances are you’re thirsty. According to Dr. Roberta Lee of the Clear Lake Regional Medical Centre, “75% of all Americans are chronically dehydrated and don’t even know it.” Even mild dehydration affects our bodies…a lot. Dr. Lee goes on to say that “…60% of our bodies are water, 75% of our muscles and 85% of our brains are water…water is to our bodies like oil is to a machine.”
Negative effects of dehydration include three major states of our physical well being. Fatigue is the first effect as dehydration causes our enzymatic activity to slow down so much that we have less and less energy. Chronic constipation is the second major area. Without enough water in our bodies, the waste in our intestines becomes so dry that it becomes increasing hard to move. And, because 85% of our brains are water, low levels or lack of water intake causes the protective layer of water that encompasses our brains to evaporate and then, in turn, causes the brain to push against its skull and voila, a headache.
Here are some tips to prevent dehydration in the first place.
- Drink 2 glasses of water as soon as you get up in the morning. The water will aid both your digestion and your energy levels for the day ahead.
- Carry a personal water bottle with you…and drink from it throughout the day. A water bottle with stainless steel insides is recommended.
- Eat water based foods such as oranges, grapefruits, cucumbers and…watermelon.
- Consider getting a water consumption tracking app to help you remember to drink, to record your water intake levels, to graphically display your water consumption throughout the day, to calculate your water needs and to help you plan a water drinking schedule throughout the day.
Some names to keep in mind when researching water consumption tracking apps are Water Drink, Water Logged, Water Coach, Aqua Alert, Water Balance, Daily Water, Hydrate Daily and Water Time Pro. Remember that young children and older adults need more water than those “in the middle.” And remember too that drinking coffee and soft drink beverages is not the same as drinking water.
