Can you feel that..that little dryness in your throat? Yes, that’s your body calling out for water. “Oh, no big deal! I will just have a glass of water and it will all be fine. That’s how I will stay hydrated.”, you say? That may sound great, except for the fact that by the time your body sends out a signal for water, it’s often past the time when it really needed water. Making it worse is the fact that we often ignore or misread our body’s signals. So, today let’s tell you why and how you should stay properly hydrated during the summer season and take care of your body.
One of the biggest obstacles to staying properly hydrated is the misconception that you need to drink water regularly only if you are outdoors or if you are doing a lot of physical activity. The fact is that our body requires a certain amount of water for optimum functioning, health & wellness no matter what the weather conditions or amount of physical activity. Secondly, we often tend to lose track of time when working (especially from home) and skip drinking water. In offices, we often take breaks which automatically remind us to drink water. That’s not the case when working from home. Most importantly, we often drink more tea/coffee etc. when working from home. This leads us to think that we don’t need to drink water separately. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Let’s see how to maintain a healthy (water) drinking habit.
(Insert smile emoji here)First of all, let’s look at what you should do:
1. Decide how much water you should be drinking. It depends on your weight and level of activity, but 2 litres of water is the bare minimum.
2. Fill a water bottle (500 ml or 1L) and keep it near your desk or where you are working. This ensures that you have a constant reminder right in front of you.
3. Keep a target, say 1 litre before lunch. This helps you stay on track and avoids situations where you go without water for long hours and then drink it up at one go to make up for it. Neither of the situations is good for your health.
4. You can add flavour to your water by adding slices of your favourite fruits like lemons, strawberries etc.
Now that you have seen what you should be doing, let’s understand what you should not be doing:
1. Do not consume too much tea, coffee etc. Try to restrict their intake to less than 1-2 cups per day.
2. As far as possible, stay away from sugary drinks like colas, flavoured juices etc.
3. Avoid eating junk food like fried snacks. These tend to increase your cravings for tea, coffee, colas etc. which are ultimately dehydrating.
4. Last but not least, don’t count the intake of tea, coffee etc. as water intake.
Now that you know the why and how of keeping yourself hydrated this summer, we hope you will follow these and enjoy the benefits of staying hydrated. Stay safe, stay healthy and have a wonderful summer.
