7 Reasons Why You Should Drink More Water
Getting enough water every day is important for your health: Here are seven reasons to make sure you’re drinking enough water every day
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, getting enough water every day is important for your health. Water helps your body keep your temperature normal, lubricate and cushion joints, protect your spinal cord and other sensitive tissues, and get rid of wastes through urination, perspiration, and bower movements. Your body needs more water when you are in hot climates, more physically active, running a fever, and having diarrhea or vomiting.
You may have heard an old suggestion to drink eight glasses of water a day. Actually, it was nothing more than a guideline, not based on scientific evidence. But don’t be upset yet. We may not need exactly eight glasses of water a day, but the truth is drinking a lot of water is good for your body and essential to your health.
Around 60% of our body is made up of water, and our blood is 90% water. Water is essential for the kidneys and other bodily functions. When dehydrated, the skin can become more vulnerable to skin disorders and wrinkling. Drinking water instead of soda can help with weight loss.
When your water intake does not equal your output, you can become dehydrated. Fluid losses are accentuated in warmer climates, during strenuous exercise, in high altitudes, and in older adults, whose sense of thirst may not be as sharp.
Here are seven reasons to make sure you’re drinking enough water every day:
1. Water helps to maximize physical performance
If we do not drink enough water, physical performance can suffer. This is particularly important during intense exercise or high heat. Dehydration can have a noticeable effect if you lose as little as 2% of your body’s water content. However, it is not uncommon for athletes to lose up to 6-10% of their water weight via sweat.
This can lead to altered body temperature control, reduced motivation, increased fatigue and make exercise feel much more difficult, both physically and mentally.
So, if you exercise intensely, drinking a lot of water can help you perform at your absolute best.
2. Water can help weight lose
Drinking plenty of water can help you lose weight. For years, dieters have been drinking lots of water as a weight loss strategy.
In two studies, drinking half a liter (17 ounces) of water was shown to increase metabolism by 24-30% for up to 1.5 hours. This means that drinking 2 liters of water every day can increase your total energy expenditure by up to 96 calories per day.
3. Water helps skin health and beauty
Your skin contains plenty of water, and functions as a protective barrier to prevent excess fluid loss. Dehydration makes your skin look drier and more wrinkled. It has been seen that women who drink 1.5 liters of water every day experience a reduction in wrinkles after 6 weeks without making any other changes in their diet.
Drinking more water helps a lot in getting a clear looking skin. This is because water flushes out toxins and metabolic wastes from the body and clears the skin from dirt and bacteria.
4. Water helps your kidneys.
Urinary stones are painful clumps of mineral crystal that form in the urinary system. The most common form is kidney stones, which form in the kidneys. There is limited evidence that water intake can help prevent recurrence in people who have previously gotten kidney stones.
Higher fluid intake increases the volume of urine passing through the kidneys, which dilutes the concentration of minerals, so they are less likely to crystallize and form clumps. But more studies are required to confirm this. If you drink too little of water, you may be at higher risk for kidney stones, especially in warm climates, Guest warns.
When you’re getting enough fluids, urine flows freely, is light in color and free of odor. When your body is not getting enough fluids, urine concentration, color, and odor increases because the kidneys trap extra fluid for bodily functions.
5. Water helps maintain normal bowel function.
Constipation is a common problem, characterized by infrequent bowel movements and difficulty passing stool. Drinking a lot of water is often recommended as a part of the treatment, and there is some evidence to back this up. Low water consumption appears to be a risk factor for constipation in both young and elderly individuals.
6. Water helps relieve and prevent headache
Drinking water can sometimes help relieve headache, especially in people who are dehydrated. Dehydration can trigger headaches and migraines in some individuals. Several studies have shown that water can relieve headaches in those who are dehydrated.
One study of 18 people found that water had no effect on the frequency of headaches but did reduce the intensity and duration somewhat. Therefore, it is always appreciable to first try to drink plenty of water before reaching for the pills.
7. Water helps prevent hangovers
A hangover refers to the unpleasant symptoms experienced after drinking alcohol. It is partly caused by dehydration, and drinking water can help reduce some of the main symptoms of hangovers. Alcohol makes you lose more water than you take in. This can lead to dehydration.
A good way to reduce hangovers is to drink a glass of water between drinks, and to have at least one big glass of water before going to bed.