“Your body is 60% water”. “Drink 8 glasses a day”. These are things that you’ve most likely been hearing all your life.
What happens when you drink water though? Your organs sing a little song and do a happy dance because many of them need water in order to do their jobs. You need water to do your job too.
When you get dehydrated your brain gets fatigued which makes it hard to do much of anything without feeling wiped out. Fatigue isn’t the only ailment caused by dehydration. Keep reading this guide for more reasons to drink your 8 glasses a day.
1. Physical Performance
As you work out, you lose quite a bit of water through sweat. The more you lose, the harder it is for you to continue on with your workout.
If you drink water throughout your gym session, you’ll replenish those lost fluids which means you won’t get tired as fast. Since you won’t get tired, you’ll be able to work out much longer and harder.
Drinking water will also lubricate your joints and prevent the many cramps that come with exercise.
2. Weight Loss
Water has other weight loss benefits besides helping you with your workout routine. Drinking cold water will jump-start your metabolism. Your body will have to use energy to regulate your temperature after drinking cold water so you’ll burn calories.
Drinking water will make you feel full. Drink a glass before every meal to keep yourself from eating as much as you normally would. This trick can stave off late-night cravings as well.
Nothing makes you gain weight faster than sugary juices and sodas. Water makes a good replacement for those.
3. Keeps Your Body Balanced
Again, your body is made up of around 60% water. Give or take. Drinking water keeps all the fluids in your body in perfect balance.
This will help your body with digestion, nutrient transport, temperature regulation, and much more.
4. Healthy Digestion
When you’re dehydrated, your colon will panic and attempt to absorb water to hydrate your body. This throws the fluids in your gut way off balance which will result in constipation.
Drinking filtered water also makes it easier for your body to break down the food you eat and prevents other gastrointestinal issues such as heartburn from occurring.
5. Increase Brain Function and Reduce Fatigue
If you have a big exam coming up, it might be a good idea for you to go in with a bottle of water at your desk.
Even the smallest amount of dehydration can have a huge impact on your brain’s ability to function. It will be hard for you to stay focused on the questions in front of you.
Dehydration also has a negative effect on memory so even if you can focus, you may not be able to recall everything you studied.
Only get a few hours of sleep before the big test? Reach for a bottle of water instead of coffee. Dehydration can make your body feel sluggish and tired.
6. Reduce Stress
Lack of water in the body has been shown to increase the levels of the stress hormone. If you don’t drink enough water it could cause depression, anxiety, and other emotions that make it hard to deal with stressful situations.
So, keep a bottle of water by your desk and sip on it throughout your day. It will help you keep your cool when dealing with frustrating work issues.
7. Kidney Function
Your kidneys are responsible for signaling out waste and sending it to your bladder to be released as urine. It can’t do this without the proper amount of fluid.
Drinking only water has the potential to reduce your risk for kidney disease, kidney stones, and urinary tract infections.
8. Healthy Skin
Drinking water hydrates your skin cells and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. As you go through your day, your body picks up all sorts of toxins that give your skin a dull complexion.
Water makes your skin glow by flushing out these problem-causing toxins and impurities. If you don’t like the taste of water, you can add a little bit of lemon to it.
Lemon helps fight the free radicals that damage skin and allows for healthy collagen growth.
9. Prevent Headaches
If you tend to get a lot of headaches, you may be able to solve your problem by drinking more water. Headaches are a common symptom of dehydration.
Depending on what type of headaches you suffer from, water might not stop how often you get them but it will make them hurt less and they won’t stick around for as long.
10. Stop Hangovers
The worst part of drinking is the hangover you feel in the morning. You can prevent it by chugging a glass of water in between drinks and having one additional glass before you go to bed for the night.
Alcohol causes your body to lose more water than it can take in. This is one of the main reasons why you feel so crummy the night after.
Dehydration isn’t the main cause of the sick hangover feeling but they do share a lot of the same symptoms.
What Happens When You Drink Water? Your Body Will Flourish
What happens when you drink water? You’ll be able to focus better, you won’t be as fatigued, you won’t get as many headaches, your stress levels will go down, your skin will glow, and more. Get in your 8 cups a day.
Drinking water isn’t the only way to keep your body in top shape. Browse our online magazine for some more healthy lifestyle tips.