10 Ways to Ensure You are Drinking Enough Water as You Age

The human body is made up of up to 60% of water. As such, it makes sense that drinking water is important for protecting our health. Drinking enough water helps to ensure that our body has enough water to function, and it also helps to keep the skin hydrated.

Drinking water supports a healthy lifestyle, as it helps us control how much we eat, prevents fatigue, and helps us to store the mental and physical energy required to function well. It also hydrates the skin, which means it retains elasticity, and we are less likely to see wrinkles. In addition, drinking water is vital in promoting brain health, which is a particularly important part of healthy ageing.

While we now know the benefits of staying hydrated, it can be difficult to drink enough water throughout the day. The following are some tips that may help.

1. Understand How Much Water our Body Needs

In order to ensure we keep hydrated, it’s important to first understand how much fluid our body needs. It is generally recommended for men to consume 3,700 ml a day (that’s about 14 cups), and women 2,700 ml (about 10 cups). However, this is a very general recommendation, as fluid requirements are dependant on a number of factors, such as level of activity, health status, climate, and more. This fluid can come from water, other drinks, and food.

2. Drink Water Throughout the Day

Constantly having water nearby to sip on throughout the day is one of the simplest ways to ensure we are reaching our water intake. It will also help to prevent our mouths from getting dry and can help to keep our breath fresh.

3. Keep a Water Bottle at Hand

Having a water bottle at hand can help us drink more water throughout the day. We can easily carry a reusable water bottle with us no matter what we are doing, whether we’re running errands, at home, or doing another activity. Having a water bottle at hand can also serve as a visual cue to remind us to drink water.

4. Drink a Glass of Water Before Each Meal 

This is another easy way to increase our daily water intake. If we drink one glass of water before each meal, this will make an additional 3 cups of water a day. Drinking water can also help us control our diet by eating less as it fills us up a little. This can help us eat fewer calories during the meal.

5. Drink a Glass of Water Before and After Bed

This is another easy way to boost our daily water intake. Drinking a glass of cold water when we get out of bed can help us wake up in the morning and boost our alertness. In addition, drinking water before bed can help prevent us from waking up with a dry mouth.

6. Set Reminders to Drink Throughout the Day

For those of us who are forgetful or too busy to remember to sip water, setting an alarm can help increase water intake. With a smartphone, there are apps available specifically for measuring daily water consumption. We can also simply use an alarm to set reminders to drink more water.

7. Replace Other Drinks with Water

Replacing other drinks, such as soft drinks and cordial, with water can help increase water intake while also decreasing calorie intake. These drinks typically have a lot of added sugar, which can have a negative impact on our overall health, as diets that are high in sugar have been linked to obesity and other conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

8. Eat More Foods That Have A High Water Content

Adding foods that are high in water to our diet can help us to increase our water intake. There are a number of fruits and vegetables that are particularly high in water, such as lettuce (96% water), celery (95% water), zucchini (95% water), cabbage (92% water), and watermelon (91% water). As well as being high in water content, these fruits and vegetables are also full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that can increase our overall health.

9. Add Flavour to Your Water

Some of us avoid drinking water, as we dislike the flavour. For others, we may just be more inclined to drink more water if it tastes better. We can simply add some fruit to the water we are drinking, or alternatively, we can purchase a fruit-infuser water bottle. We can add any combination of fruits to our water, dependant on taste. Some of the most popular fruits to add to water include lime, lemon, strawberry and kiwi.

10. Liquid Out – Water In

Although you may not see it in articles about increasing your water intake, a popular way to increase your water intake is to have a glass of water each time you have been to the toilet – liquid out, water in!

For more information on this article, or the other services that we provide, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Brain Sparks. Our Ageless Grace® program can help you keep your body young as you age. The program uses all areas of the brain combined with movement to improve brain and body health.