Are you drinking enough water?
It is commonly recommended that we be drinking around 2 litres of water a day. This goes up if you are exercising, especially on a hot day. With our bodies being made up of around 60% water, then it makes sense that we are replenishing throughout the day.
In this blog, Plus Fitness - Caddens Corner is going to give you our top 6 reasons for why you need to make sure you are drinking enough water each day.
1. Water will maximise your performance during exercise
If we don’t keep hydrated, then our physical performance will suffer. It is not uncommon for athletes to lose up to 6-10% of their body’s water content just from sweating. This can then impact body temperature control, reduce motivation, increase fatigue, and make it feel much harder to exercise from both a physically and mentally perspective. However, remaining hydrated has been shown to prevent this from happening. When you consider that muscle is made up of around 80% water, then it is not surprising that staying well hydrated both before, during, and after exercise will help you to perform at your best!
2. Drinking enough water can help with weight loss
Drinking plenty of water can help you with your weight loss. This is largely due to water increasing satiety, which is the feeling of fullness and satisfaction that can boost your metabolic rate.
In certain studies, drinking half a litre of water was shown to increase metabolism by 24-30% for up to 1.5 hours. Doing the sums means that drinking 2 litres of water every day could increase your total energy expenditure by up to 96 calories per day.
The timing of your water consumption is also important. Drinking water half an hour before a meal is the most effective way to benefit satiety. It can make you feel fuller so that you eat fewer calories, helping to keep you more on track to your max calorie daily target.
3. Water can help prevent a hangover
A hangover, as most of us know, is that unpleasant symptom experienced after drinking alcohol. This is largely due to alcohol being diuretic, which means it makes you lose more water than you take in. This can then lead to dehydration. Although dehydration is not the main cause of your hangover, it can cause symptoms like thirst, fatigue, headache, and dry mouth. A good way to reduce the scale of your hangover is to drink a glass of water between drinks. Drinking one or two large glasses of water before going to bed after a big night out will also help to prevent that dreaded hangover.
4. Water can help prevent and treat headaches
Dehydration can trigger headaches and migraines in some people. Several studies have shown that water can relieve headaches in those who are dehydrated. Keeping hydrated has also been shown to prevent headaches, especially in those that perform regular exercise.
5. Hydration has a positive effect on energy levels and brain function
Your brain is strongly influenced by your level of hydration. Studies show that even mild dehydration (1-3% of body weight) can negatively impact many aspects of brain function. In a study of young women, fluid loss of 1.36% after exercise impaired both mood and concentration and increased the frequency of headaches. Another similar study in young men showed that fluid loss of 1.59% was detrimental to working memory and increased feelings of anxiety and fatigue.
6. Drinking enough water can relieve constipation
Constipation is a common problem and can be especially common in those who have a high-protein diet if they are not consuming enough fibre. Increasing fluid intake is often recommended as a part of the treatment protocol for constipation. Carbonated water has been shown to work particularly well here, although the reasons are not entirely understood.
Reference: https://www.plusfitness.com.au/blog/are-you-drinking-enough-water