You’ve no doubt heard that drinking enough water is a key component to good overall health. Getting in the right amount of water each day helps your body keep performing at its best. However, the importance of hydration is more than skin deep, as being properly hydrated has both physical and mental benefits.
Let’s dig into the importance of staying hydrated and how it affects your overall health.
The Science Behind Hydration
While the human body can survive a couple of weeks without food, you can only go a few days without water. It is vital to our health and well-being. Even though the human body is 50% to 75% water, it can’t store it for very long. This means that we need to constantly replenish our body fluid in order to make sure that we stay well-hydrated.
Think of drinking water as a part of a balanced diet. Eating the right amount of fresh produce, carbs, proteins, and healthy fats makes you feel good. But it also gives your body the nutrition it needs to perform all its vital functions. Water works in the same way as a tool in your overall health, which is the importance of hydration.
The Role of Water in Our Bodies
Feeling thirsty is one of your body’s signals that you need to drink more water. Don’t ignore that sign! Many of your body’s systems depend on water to keep functioning as they should. Hydration importance — or giving your body the fluid intake that it needs — keeps these systems working so that your body can perform tasks to stay healthy.
For example, water helps to:
- Regulate your body temperature
- Remove waste from the body
- Aid in digestion and nutrient absorption
- Lubricate joints to help you move
- Transport nutrients and oxygen to your cells
- Moisturize your skin and mucus membranes
- Create saliva so that you can chew, swallow, and taste
- Boost mood, energy, and cognitive function
That’s a lot to accomplish. And your body can’t do it all if it doesn’t have the right daily water intake.
Daily Recommended Water Intake
You might have heard that eight glasses of water a day is the magic number, but this rule isn’t one-size-fits-all. There are several factors that go into knowing the right amount of water that your body needs. This includes your level of physical activity, hot weather, and the foods that you eat. People who work out a lot or live in warm climates will need more water, while those who don’t will need less.
Age and body size also determine how much water your body needs. On average, men over the age of 19 need 13 cups of water, and women need nine [Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health]. Another rule to follow is to drink 35 ml of water per kilogram of body weight.
Hydration for seniors and children is still very important, but the numbers are different due to body size and activity level. Seniors especially need to be careful to drink enough water to avoid dehydration. Because of changes in their bodies, they might not realize they’re thirsty until they’re already dehydrated.
Benefits of Hydration
Hydration trends come and go, like flavored water or the giant cups you see on Instagram. But no matter what, any way that you drink water is good because it’s going to give you the fluids that you need.
So what’s the importance of hydrating? You lose water through sweating and going to the bathroom. Replenishing your fluids helps your brain with cognitive function so you can stay awake and alert. In turn, this can give your energy a boost and improve physical performance.
Not only that, but water helps with the digestive process and makes sure that your body gets the nutrients it needs from the food that you eat. It can even help you manage or lose weight.
Staying hydrated can help fight off certain illnesses and prevent health conditions like [Healthline]:
- Constipation
- Hypertension
- Kidney stones
- Urinary tract infections
Serious dehydration can cause even more health problems.
Hydration's Role in Exercise
The importance of hydration during exercise is crucial. You lose a lot of water through sweat during a tough workout. If you don’t drink enough fluids during exercise, you can experience mild dehydration that can cause your body temp to rise, fatigue to set in, and even decrease your athletic performance.
Bring a bottle of water or a sports drink with you when you exercise so that you can hydrate throughout your workout. Staying hydrated will help to maintain your focus and level of performance while preventing your body temp or heart rate from rising too much [Better Health].
What Happens When We Are Dehydrated
Common signs of dehydration are:
- Urinating less frequently, or urine that is dark yellow
- Dry mouth, lips, and tongue
- Feeling fatigued, dizzy, or lightheaded
- Thirstiness
Dehydration can cause your blood pressure to drop. This makes your body work to bring it back up again, which can make your blood pressure rise very high very quickly. It can cause feelings of confusion, nausea, and headaches that can last until you are rehydrated. These things can impair your cognitive function and make you feel tired and unwell.
How to Stay Hydrated
The human body functions best when it’s hydrated. The importance of hydration during summer and the importance of hydration during exercise makes sure you’re giving your body the fluids it needs. Hydration is even more important when you’re sick. Here are some tricks for staying hydrated:
- Drink consistently during the day, not just when you’re thirsty
- Eat hydrating foods, like leafy greens, cucumber, and watermelon
- Avoid being outside during the hottest parts of the day
- Flavor your water if you find it hard to drink plain water
- Carry a water bottle with you to fill during the day
- Know the signs and symptoms of dehydration
Enhance Hydration With Piurify
Piurify’s hydration products make it simple and delicious to drink your water any time, any place. The Piurify Hydronator Bottle is portable, meaning you take clean, antioxidant-rich water on the go with you.
The Hydrogenator Pitcher works perfectly at home to quench your thirst and provide you with anti-inflammatory water that’s abundant with oxygen. Purify makes it easy to stay hydrated since we know how important it is to your health. So, check out our products and discover pure hydration.