We all know that water is essential for our body to go through its everyday duties like regulating body temperature, moistening tissues in the eyes, nose, and mouth, protecting our body organs and tissues, lubricating joints, and carrying nutrients and oxygen to cells.

Considering that our bodies are made up of about 60% water, that makes a lot of sense. The brain itself is 72% water and requires adequate hydration to ensure that the body functions the best it can.

You should be drinking at least half your body weight in ounces of water each day. However, drinking more might be highly beneficial depending on your diet or lifestyle. Water has no calories, but some contains minerals like calcium and fluoride.

Drinking plenty of water daily can ensure that your body gets what it needs to function properly. On top of drinking lots of water, there are many benefits to this being your only beverage throughout your day and cutting out sugary junk like sodas and yes, your favorite Starbucks frappuccino's. 

Energy Boosts

How often does someone suggest drinking more water when you aren’t feeling well? You can’t blame them! It's often the solution to many of our daily issues, and lack of energy is included in this.

The brain is influenced by hydration, and even if you think you’re doing enough by drinking a few cups of water throughout the day, mild dehydration can occur, where you lose 1-3% of your body weight. Your body needs to be adequately hydrated to get as much energy as possible from the food you are consuming. If you are dehydrated, you can feel fatigued, have reduced motivation, and experience increased headaches.

Improves Physical Performance

Making sure that you stay hydrated while you work out might seem obvious, but you lose more of your bodily fluids while you sweat, and so it’s important to be drinking more than you normally would.

During physical activity, your body produces and loses sweat. Losing bodily fluid can lead to dehydration, so it’s essential that you consume enough water to keep proper fluid levels. By staying replenished, you can ensure that you will be able to perform the best you can.

If you are dehydrated, you will find that your body has less of the ability to control your temperature, and fatigue may increase. You won’t be able to regulate the heat in your body or sweat, leading to severe issues like fainting. Dehydration can mean that the brain is not getting enough water, which could lead to increased oxidative stress, an imbalance of free radical and antioxidants in the body, created during exercise.

Staying hydrated will lower oxidative stress and prevent the feeling of exhaustion. Staying hydrated does not mean drinking a few sips here and there. You should be drinking between two to three cups every hour when you are doing physical activity.

You can pretty much guarantee that physical performance levels will increase when you are properly hydrated. If you are looking to be your best physical self, drinking plenty will allow you to push yourself harder and make more progress!

Assists In Weight Management

You deserve to feel comfortable and happy in your own skin, but sometimes trying extensive fad diets only hurts you. There are easy changes you can make to your daily life to help healthily manage your weight.

Drinking lots of water can aid in weight management. Consuming water can help boost your metabolism, which directly correlates to managing your weight. By increasing your metabolism, you can help to increase the number of calories you burn in a day. Increasing your water intake before meals can also help you stick to recommended portion sizes because you may feel fuller from the water. Water can help regulate hunger by helping prevent the risk of overeating.

The more hydrated you are, the better your body will function. Sometimes if your body is entering mild dehydration, you might think you are hungry. Your mind can trick you into thinking it’s a hunger craving that you are feeling instead of thirst, but in reality, you just need to drink more water.

Water can also help support your muscles and joints, making it easier to exercise. Time to substitute sugary caffeine drinks or sports beverages. and see the difference it can make!

Upping water intake is a simple and easy solution to a lot of uncomfortable symptoms you might experience during your day to day, so you might want to consider investing in a nice water bottle to keep close by and encourage you to sip all day long!

Helps Headaches, Constipation, and Kidney Stones

When you drink more water, your body will thank you in many ways. Water does so much good for your body, and if you are dealing with issues such as headaches, constipation, or kidney stones, water is an easy way to feel better.

Headaches

Some people deal with chronic migraines and headaches, and though drinking water cannot cure a headache after one sip, it may help treat and prevent headaches from ever happening. When you become dehydrated, your brain and its functioning suffer. Headaches are one of the most common symptoms of dehydration. If you aren’t drinking enough, your body will let you know with an annoying pounding behind your eyes.

You’ve probably heard it before. When you have a headache, a very common response will be, “Have you drank any water today?” This is a valid response, and some research shows that by drinking water, you can alleviate your headache and relieve the pain.

It's especially important to drink water with electrolytes at the gym. Not only does hydration help prevent cramps, but it can prevent headaches from water loss due to sweat. When your body temperature increases during your workout, your body will sweat to cool you down.

Drinking water instead of sugary drinks or juices can help prevent dehydration after exercise. Plus, water has fewer calories than juices or soda, so it can help if weight loss is your goal.

Constipation

Constipation can be painful and uncomfortable. An increase in intake of water can help you out if you are feeling constipated. Water is really helpful in the digestion process because it allows food to flow through the intestines easier.

When you aren’t consuming enough water, your intestines absorb water from the food passing through and cause your bowel movements to become very hard to pass. If you are to increase your water intake, your stool can soften and exit the body a lot easier.

Fluid intake can also help stimulate your digestive system.

Kidney Stones

If you’ve ever had them, you know that they are something you never want to experience again. Kidney stones are deposits made of salts and minerals that form inside your kidneys. Passing them is extremely painful, but the only way to get over them is to pass them.

When you have kidney stones, it is recommended that you drink a lot of water to help pass them through the tract easier. When you drink more water than normal, more urine is allowed to pass through the kidneys to help dilute the concentration of the minerals.

In addition to minimizing your risk of kidney stones, water consumption can help your health by reducing your risk of urinary tract infections, helping to improve your complexion, and helping to flush out toxins. There's even evidence that water helps increase your cognitive performance, brain function, and mood.

How Much Water Should You Be Drinking?

Everyone’s bodies are different; therefore, everyone should be consuming different amounts of water daily. It can all depend on your weight, age, and your current physical well-being.

You want to stay hydrated all day, and if you are doing physical activity and sweating throughout the day, you should be consuming more water. The more water you lose, the more you should take in!

An average person should be consuming at least six cups of water a day to stay adequately hydrated. This will help you keep energized throughout the day because a lack of water can cause fatigue and irritation. If you don’t think you do this, we seriously recommend getting a water bottle that you love! It’s an easy way to get into the habit of drinking more.

If you are concerned about your water intake, you should consider talking about it with your doctor. If you don’t want to go all the way to the doctor’s office to find this information out, you can use Vessel Health’s Wellness Test Card to check up on your hydration levels and make some proactive changes.

Using Vessel Health’s Wellness Test Card

Vessel Health makes it easy to learn about what is going on in your body. By using the Wellness Test Card, information about your body’s nutrient and mineral levels is available to you at your fingertips. It’s easy to use, and even better than that, it’s meant to be used at home — you don’t have to travel to a doctor’s office to learn about your water intake because the Vessel Health app will tell you!

We analyze your body’s information and let you know if you are drinking too little or too much water. If you aren’t getting enough water, we will give you suggestions on how to improve your health and tell you how much you should be drinking daily.

Hydration Is Key

Hydration is important. It’s essential to your normal bodily functions, and without it, you will feel the negative effects of dehydration. Staying hydrated and drinking enough water does wonders for the body. If you do not drink enough water, you might get headaches, feel tired, and have very little energy. This is not the way we want to feel, and it’s honestly a change that everyone can make with a little bit of consistency.

If you are concerned about your daily water intake, you can learn more about how much water you need with Vessel Health today!

Don’t worry. Changing your water drinking habits is quite easy for many of us. Even if you are forgetful and leave the house without water daily, you can work towards remembering a water bottle on your way out. Drinking only water is really good for your body, so consider making it a bigger part of your daily life!