Drinking adequate water throughout the day is extremely important to maintain several bodily functions. Water plays a vital role in digestion and metabolism, circulation of oxygen throughout your body, regulating your body temperature, maintaining cellular functions, flushing out toxins from your body through urine and sweat, and many other functions. Irrespective of the weather (cold or hot) you need to drink about 2-3 liters or 10-12 glasses of water everyday to maintain a hydrated body. Lack of hydration may make you feel tired and lethargic and may cause drying of skin, headaches, low output of urine, and many other adverse changes in your body at the cellular level. 

This New Year, resolve to drink adequate water daily to keep your body hydrated and healthy. Here are some simple tips that can help you build the healthy habit of drinking water. These tips can also act as reminders for drinking water and help you track the amount of water you drank throughout the day.

  • Hard to miss - Brushing your teeth after you wake up, taking a shower, eating meals, are examples of a few routine daily activities that are hard to miss. Make sure you tie each of these activities with a glass of water. Every time you perform each of these activities drink a glass of water.

  • Add some taste - If you find plain water boring or not so palatable, infuse your water with your favorite flavors. Example add a few slices of fruits such as lime, lemon, or orange, or refreshing green leaves like mint or basil, or spice up the water with ginger, cumin, or cinnamon. This will make you willfully reach out to your next glass of water. Infused water is also one of the easiest ways to detox your body.
  • Eat your water - You read it right! You can eat your water too. The trick is to choose foods with high water content such as cucumber (95% water content), watermelon (91% water content), lettuce (96% water content), celery (95% water content), etc.
  • Brew a beverage - Drink herbal teas or green tea in between meals. These teas are nothing but flavored water with refreshing properties and some health benefits. Moreover, they taste equally good whether you prefer to drink them hot or as iced teas.
  • Too salty to handle - Munch on salty yet healthy snacks such as salted makhanas, salted almonds, salted peanuts, etc in between your meals. You will easily find yourself reaching out to your water bottle or glass of water to wash away the saltiness on your tongue.

  • Measure it up - Use clear water bottles or graduated water bottles (bottles with markings at every 100ml or 200ml) that will help you track your water consumption. 
  • Technology to the help - Make use of technology. Download water intake reminder apps in your phone. These apps, in addition to tracking your water consumption, will also  timely prompt you to drink water by notifying you with reminders. Alternatively, you can also invest in a smart water bottle that can be connected to apps in your phone that will keep a track of your water consumption.
  • A one-to-one rule - Stick to the drinking rule ‘one glass of water for every cocktail you drink’. This rule will help you stay hydrated as you continue to drink alcoholic beverages and also cause hangovers of lesser intensity the next day.
  • An eye on the water - Always keep a filled water bottle in the places you frequent such as your work-desk, near the TV, in your car, next to your bed. The visible water bottle just at your reach is an effective reminder to take a sip as you shift places throughout the day.

  • The workout buddy - Make your water bottle your workout buddy. Carry a filled bottle of water for your workout sessions, start your work out with drinking a glass of water, keep taking small sips of water throughout the session and drink a full glass of water once you complete the session.
  • Challenge a pal - Make drinking water a health challenge. Set a water goal and challenge a friend or a family member. The desire to win the challenge will keep you motivated to keep sipping on water throughout the day.
  • The before and after - As mentioned earlier, it is good to tie a glass of water to your routines that are hard to miss. Likewise, there are other activities in a day with which you should make a rule of ‘a glass of water before and after the activity’. Drink a glass of water before the bedtime and immediately after you wake up, drink a glass of water before shower and a glass after shower (this will help maintain your blood pressure), drink a glass of water before your meals to regulate hunger and a glass of water after meals to wash down your meals and boost digestion.

A word of caution - While drinking about 2-3 liters or 10-12 glasses of water everyday is generally considered healthy. Your body’s water requirement might change based on the kind of daily activities you do. Example your body may need more water when you experience heavy sweating due to workout or long hours under the sun or your doctor may advise you to reduce your water intake if you have any medical conditions that require fluid restriction such as chronic kidney disease, liver cirrhosis, ascites, etc. Therefore, it is always important to consult your physician or diet and nutrition expert to understand and determine your body fluid requirements. 

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