5 Reasons You Need To Increase Your Water Consumption

Medical professionals are always discussing the benefits of drinking more water, but why is drinking water so beneficial to the human body? I’m sharing 5 reasons you need to increase your water consumption, as well as some tips on how to increase your daily water intake too.

Did you know that around 60% of the human body is made up from water? And our blood is said to be 90% water, both facts really surprised me. Drinking water is important for the body and its organs to function correctly, but there are other benefits of drinking more water.

When your body and skin become dehydrated, it can leave the skin looking drier and lines can become more visible. Dry skin is also known for being less resilient, and more prone to wrinkling. By drinking more water, your skin (which is an organ) can function well, and will help rid the body of unwanted toxins.

If you take part in daily exercise, drinking water is imperative. It’s been discovered that dehydration can have a negative effect on your physical performance. It can also lead to increased fatigue, whilst also making exercise feel both physically and mentally difficult.

Did you know that the brain is strongly influenced by your hydration levels? Studies have shown that even having mild dehydration, such as the loss of 1–3% of body weight, can impair many aspects of the brain’s functions. Mild dehydration has also been found to impair mood, the memory, and brain performance too.

Something that I definitely suffer with when I’ve not been drinking enough is headaches. Dehydration can trigger headaches, and also migraines. One of the most common symptoms of dehydration is a headache, and it’s the body’s way of letting you know that you need to up your hydration levels. Plus drinking water can actually go towards helping to relieve headaches also.

Now it’s January, are you focusing on your diet and lifestyle a little more? Drinking water can help to reduce sugar cravings, especially as the brain can’t distinguish the difference between hunger and thirst, so it’s recommended to try a glass of water next time you’re hungry as it could be your body’s way of letting you know it needs more water. Water can also help to keep you full up for longer, and it can help prevent or treat a hangover too.

So you don’t drink enough water but you definitely want to try to improve your water consumption? I’ve had two revelations that have helped me, and now I’d choose water over almost any drink. One of the reasons I didn’t like water was the smell and the taste when it was anything other than ice cold.

I’ve invested in double walled insulated drinks bottles from S’Well and they’ve changed the game for me. They keep your drinks ice cold for up to 24hrs, and you can even put ice cubes into the bottle and they remain solid for hours.

In addition to keeping my water as cold as possible, discovering flavoured water has really helped me. I personally really like the sparkling flavoured waters, as they offer the refreshment and health benefits of water, but the very subtle sparkling makes them taste less like water and more akin to a fizzy drink.

My favourite is lemon and lime, but there’s lots of flavours to choose from. Plus, you can also get lots of still flavoured waters too which are ideal if like me, you don’t like the taste of water from the tap.