8 Health Benefits of Drinking Enough Water & Staying Hydrated
8 Health Benefits of Drinking Enough Water & Staying Hydrated
There are a number of health benefits of drinking enough water.
Did you know your body is roughly 60% water, your muscles 80% and your blood is roughly 90%?
Having a well-hydrated body helps maintain a proper fluid balance. This helps with muscle energy and the elimination of waste in the body.
Your body uses water to maintain its temperature, remove waste and even lubricate your joints.
Depending on body weight, it is recommended that people in the UK should drink six to eight glasses per day. This equates to roughly 1.2 liters, however, how much water you should drink per day really depends on the individual as there are many factors that affect this.
1. Drinking enough water promotes cardiovascular health
Your body depends on water to function properly and dehydration can make the simplest tasks seem difficult. Such as walking up the stairs or cleaning the house, not to mention how much more difficult exercise is if you are dehydrated.
Reduction in blood volume can be a result of dehydration. This leads to your heart having to work a lot harder in order to pump the blood around the body. It also has to work harder to get enough oxygen to your cells.
2. It promotes better thinking and reasoning
Water is involved in the production of hormones and neurotransmitters. Dehydration can affect brain structure and many aspects of brain function.
Going long periods of time where you are dehydrated can lead to problems with thinking and reasoning. Studies have even shown that fluid loss can lead to increased feelings of anxiety and fatigue.
Not sure how much water you should drink? We discuss that here.
3. The digestive system depends on it
These benefits of drinking enough water, when it comes to digestion, are very important. All though digestion starts before food even enters your mouth (it actually starts when you smell food), water helps form saliva and mucus.
The saliva helps us to digest our food through enzymatic processes that take place in the mouth. Your bowel also needs water to work properly. So making sure we are properly hydrated will make all the other digestive processes down the chain that much more efficient. This will lead to better assimilation and absorption of nutrients.
If that wasn’t enough, it also helps with digestive problems such as constipation since this is characterized by infrequent bowel movements and difficulty passing stool.
4. Drinking enough water may help prevent kidney damage
Inadequate water may lead to kidney stones since lowered fluid intake decreases the volume of urine passing through the kidneys.
This reduction in urine increases the concentration of minerals which can then result in these minerals crystallising and forming clumps.
More research is definitely needed in this area. However, if you are lacking insufficient water intake then getting more in won’t hurt.
5. Increases physical performance during exercise
Making sure you are properly hydrated will lead to better performance in your workouts, especially if you are involved in intense workouts.
You can also lose a lot of water through sweat so make sure you are staying hydrated during your workout in order to maximize your performance.
Lack of motivation to workout can also be due to dehydration as your body needs sufficient levels to manage fatigue and make exercise feel easier.
So, if you want your workouts to seem easier, both mentally and physically, top-up on your water intake and stay hydrated!
6. Drinking more water can help you lose weight
Being dehydrated results in all the cellular processes in your body running less efficiently, including your metabolism.
Your metabolism consists of the build-up of substances (anabolism) and the breakdown of substances (catabolism). Basically all the biochemical processes that occur in your body and being even slightly dehydrated can cause a significant drop in metabolism.
So drinking more water if you are below the amount your body needs will boost your metabolism and aid with your weight loss.
It’s also possible that some of your hunger could be due to dehydration. You see it’s very difficult for your body to tell the difference between hunger and thirst. So the next time you’re feeling the onset of hunger, try drinking a glass of water instead!
7. Water helps reduce appetite
Research has shown that drinking a glass of water before a meal can help reduce the amount you eat. This is done by making you feel more full and you actually end up eating less.
You may only eat a little less at each meal but just think about how many meals you eat in one week? One month? One year? It will all add up over time and you’ll be on your way to achieving all the weight loss you envisioned when you started this journey!
8. Water helps muscles and joints work better
Water is important for lubricating joints and providing adequate nutrients to contracting muscles and the removal of waste efficiently. This allows you to perform better during exercise and day to day activities.
So there you have it. 8 health benefits of drinking enough water that will hopefully help you along your way to better health!