Since the body is mainly composed of water, drinking enough water is essential for it to function at its best. To stay hydrated it is important to understand how much water you need and to implement strategies to preserve an adequate degree of hydration in daily life. It is also good to remember that your needs vary depending on various factors, such as physical activity, temperature, any pathologies and pregnancy.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Drink Regularly
Step 1. Sip some water as soon as you get up in the morning
Some people only drink milk or coffee for breakfast, but adding at least a glass of water promotes proper hydration early in the morning. Keeping a bottle on your bedside table can help you remember this.
Step 2. Always carry a bottle of water
It is cheap and can be taken to work, school or whenever you are away from home for several hours. Some bottles have specific notches to indicate the amount of milliliters you consume, in order to keep track of how much you drink.
- It is commonly recommended to drink at least 8 8-ounce glasses of water per day. If you play sports or if it's hot, you need to calculate more. In any case, men need an average of 13 8-ounce glasses of water per day, while women need 9.
- You can also try dividing your body weight (in pounds) in half. The number resulting from this calculation will indicate the amount of water you will need to drink (in ounces). For example, if you weigh 160 pounds, you should drink 80 ounces of water a day (Google can do all the necessary conversions).
Step 3. Drink before feeling thirsty
Thirst indicates dehydration. To maintain adequate levels of hydration, you need to drink frequently, in order to prevent the body from sending this signal. Over the years, the thirst receptors become less effective and are activated with greater difficulty, so it is good to get used to drinking frequently throughout the day.
Step 4. Checking your urine is an effective way to tell if you are hydrated or not
In addition to drinking before feeling thirsty, urine should be examined to determine if you are enjoying an optimal level of hydration. Those who consume an adequate amount of fluids have abundant clear or light yellow urine, while dehydrated people experience poor urination and expulsion of dark yellow urine, as they are more concentrated.
Step 5. Limit caffeinated and sugar-containing drinks
Caffeine has a diuretic effect, while sugary drinks (including orange juice) are not recommended for hydration. Instead, try to drink more water. Although it is apparently less tasty or tempting, it is good for your health.
Method 2 of 2: Know Your Needs
Step 1. Review the factors that affect the amount of water you need
To stay well hydrated it is essential to know how much water to consume. Remember that the classic recommendation of drinking 8 x 250ml glasses per day is flexible. You may need to take more based on the following variables:
- Physical activity performed.
- Environment (when it is hot or in a humidified closed environment it is necessary to consume more water).
- Altitude (dehydration intensifies as altitude increases).
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding: both increase the need to consume water.
Step 2. Drink more when exercising
For an average workout, you need 1.5-2.5 additional glasses of water (in addition to the usual 8 x 250ml that have already been recommended to you). If you do physical activity for more than an hour or high intensity workouts, you will need even more.
- For rather intense workouts or workouts that last longer than an hour, a sports drink containing electrolytes is preferable to maintain optimal hydration levels.
- In fact, intense workouts lead to the loss of minerals through sweat. Without them, the water cannot be effectively absorbed by the digestive system, regardless of the amount consumed.
- Consequently, to remedy the loss of mineral salts, the electrolytes contained in sports drinks (such as Gatorade and Powerade) play an important role, as they help to absorb water more effectively.
Step 3. Various conditions can affect your hydration levels
It is important to remember that some disorders (especially those involving diarrhea and / or vomiting) require targeted intervention to maintain a good degree of hydration. If you vomit only 1 or 2 times (for example during a food poisoning episode), the consequences are less severe than a 3-5 day disorder involving severe diarrhea and / or vomiting (such as Norwalk virus or other conditions gastrointestinal).
- If you have a gastrointestinal disorder, you need to put in more effort than usual to keep yourself hydrated. You should prefer a sports drink containing electrolytes to the classic water. In fact, similar to what happens when you engage in high-resistance physical activity, diarrhea and / or vomiting will cause you to lose a lot of minerals. Sip it frequently throughout the day.
- If you can't hold back fluids or continue to suffer from diarrhea and vomiting despite trying to hydrate yourself, then you need to go to the emergency room for an intravenous administration.
- To hydrate properly and compensate for the loss of mineral salts, it is not necessary to replenish only the water, but also the electrolytes (which is why we recommend Gatorade, Powerade and other sports drinks).
- If you have this type of disorder, sip fluids regularly throughout the day and consume as much as possible. It is preferable to sip them slowly and often rather than drinking a lot at once: overdoing it can aggravate nausea and / or vomiting.
- Remember that for more serious conditions it may be necessary to undergo an intravenous fluid administration in order to maintain proper hydration. If you're worried, talk to your doctor - it's better to be on the safe side.
- Other disorders can also affect one's hydration levels, albeit to a lesser extent than gastrointestinal pathologies. If you want to know more about the relationship between pathologies (such as liver or chronic diseases), water consumption and degree of hydration, contact your doctor.
Step 4. Remember that children can become dehydrated more quickly
If your child is unwell, they risk becoming dehydrated earlier than an adult and usually need to be taken earlier than expected by the pediatrician. If the baby is listless, has difficulty waking up or does not produce tears while crying, it is necessary to go to the doctor. Here are other symptoms associated with childhood dehydration:
- No or poor urination (the diaper may remain dry for more than 3 hours).
- Skin dryness.
- Dizziness or confusion.
- Constipation.
- Hollowing of the eyes and / or fontanelles.
- Breathing and / or rapid heart rate.
Step 5. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding more fluids should be consumed
10 glasses of water per day are recommended for pregnant women (instead of the usual 8). In case of breastfeeding it is recommended to consume 13 glasses per day. In both cases, more fluids are needed to feed the fetus and / or promote milk production, which requires a lot of water.
