11 Ways to drink more water & Stay hydrated

by Arleta Blackley-Wiertelak

Improve your energy levels, mood & memory | Relieve headache and constipation

In this article, I share with you 11 ways to drink more water and staying well hydrated.

Staying well hydrated has its many benefits and I am sure you already heard about it many times. But if you suffer from headaches, constipation, or low energy, fatigue and cognitive problems drinking water can often help if not relief those symptoms completely.

I believe life is to be enjoyed and I have some playful ways to enjoy drinking water here for you. I will also share things you can do easily to stay hydrated, especially the ways most of us do not think about as hydration.

Just a few years back I used to be someone who would never drink plain water and I have seen it as the worse type of sentence to be told to drink a glass of water. I also considered flavoured water as a perfectly good form of hydration. Well it definitely isn’t, will talk more about that later. Now I drink water daily in large amounts a lot of it out of habit and I definitely enjoy it! It is just a new healthy habit and you really can get simply used to it.

Did you know your body is 60% water?

Our bodies are 60% water, our lungs are 90% water, our brain 70%, blood is over 80% water.

There is no doubt we need water.

As I mentioned in the article on gut health, your digestion itself is using 7 to 8 litres of water just in small intestinal to absorb all the nutrients.

Water helps to carry nutrients and oxygen to every cell, helps to control the body’s temperature, helps to remove toxins from your body, water also helps to metabolise fat.

On the other hand, dehydration causes fatigue, constipation, muscle cramps, kidney malfunctions which put bigger weight on your liver which slows the metabolism of fat, Signs of mild dehydration include dry mouth, excessive thirst, dizziness, lightheaded and weakness.

In a healthy body, the brain detects when the body is becoming dehydrated and initiates thirst to stimulate drinking. It also releases a hormone which signals to the kidneys to conserve water by concentrating the urine. And we’re constantly losing water through sweat, urination and breathing. In total about 2.2 litres.

The scientists are still trying to figure out what amount of water is exactly ideal for us to drink. I would say going by the 8 glasses of water a day is not far from what you need.

For those interested in more in-depth water intake recommendations check out this guide by Institute of Medicine.

Why prevent dehydration?

Drinking water is important we all know it intuitively even if sometimes it becomes hard for us.

According to The British journal of nutrition by drinking adequate amounts of water short term memory, mood, levels of awareness, alertness and cognitive functions are improved.

Also according to the British Journal of nutrition, there are some important benefits to avoiding even the early stages of mild dehydration. A number of studies have found, for example, that drinking enough to avoid mild dehydration helps support brain function and our ability to do simple tasks, such as problem-solving.

So the bottom line is that, if you are dehydrated, in one way or the other your body will signal you, drink some water! But staying hydrated before you go to the level of even mild dehydration will improve and help you maintain your brain function.

If you want to stay ahead of the curve and use your brain and body to maximum, drink water before you feel you need it.

So let us jump into the 11 ways of how to drink more water and stay hydrated!

#1. Start your day with large glass of warm lemon water

Try starting your day with a large glass of warm lemon water, it will kick in your digestion and re-hydrates you after a whole night of sleep.

We wake up quite dehydrated and need a larger amount of water in the early hours after waking.

Struggling with constipation?

This little habit was a life changer for me after I was chronically constipated for most of my life, thinking that is just how it is for me. I replaced my morning coffee with a pint of warm lemon water, and stuff started moving more regularly.

This is something you need to learn to do, instead of getting your offer going in the morning try putting the kettle on, and challenging yourself to down the glass of water quickly. Once you do it you can have your breakfast and coffee.

The ideal scenario would be to have 30min between the drinking of lemon water and eating or drinking more later. Depending on your morning routine you can try this. The main point is to have that water as the first thing you do after waking up. Well maybe after using the bathroom 😉

#2. Carry a reusable water with you at all times

Carry a water bottle with you, I know this one is not rocket science.

But having a reusable water bottle with you allows you to fill up and drink whenever you feel thirsty, especially when you are on the go.

This makes it easy to travel with also. For example, drinking water before security at the airport and filling it up after you go through to save you needing to buy water at the airport of the plane!

I would recommend to get yourself one which you actually enjoy looking at.

I have those cool crystal bottles (check out the video) around my house, one I take with me always when I go out, one is regularly next to my bed, and one goes around with me when I work or go to the garden and so on.

But the key is that I love drinking from them so it makes me want to drink from them more. I also truly believe that the water from crystal bottles taste better! And there is the added benefit of having the water charged with the energy of crystals.

#3. Track your water intake

Track your water intake, this one takes a bit of prep work, but can keep you motivated.

Especially for those of you who use organising systems, calendars or bullet journal.

In the beginning, I had bullet journal tracker for water, and it got me motivated to tick each glass of water every day.

Also, fitness trackers and phones apps allow you to do that too now. Setting water drinking reminders on your phone will great to do that too.

#4. Flavour your water by infusing it with fruits and vegetables

Flavour your water, infuse with herbs, fruits and vegetables.

Leave a pitcher or glass of water overnight with slices of your favourite add on’s.

Personally I love water infused with cucumber, as well as citruses, just remember if you put the skin and the white membrane of citruses on the water will become bitter, squeeze a lemon or lime, add mint leaves or basil.

And buying flavoured water is not the same, flavoured water have a high amount of sugars added to them, artificial sweetener and flavourings.

#5. Drink herbal and fruit teas throughout the day

Drink herbal and fruit teas, great replacement for black tea is rooibos which is high in antioxidants while also being naturally caffeine-free. Herbal teas are highly hydrating and are a perfectly good way of helping you up your water intake throughout the day.

Fruit teas can even be cooled down and drunk as lovely refreshing drink.

In my home, we don’t drink any caffeinated drinks, so our tea cupboard is full of different types of herbal and fruit tea blends, some tea bags, some loose teas.

It became our wee ritual to be brewing a tea and I drink them regularly especially during colder winter months.

Why not try different blends until you find the tea you really enjoy.

#6. Eat foods high in water content

Eat a cucumber or two, cucumbers are 96% of water!

Another high in water foods are watermelon, tomato, spinach, celery, radishes and broccoli, all over 90% water.

Granted with spinach it is fairly hard to eat much of it to stay hydrated but with cucumber or melon, it is super easy.

But it is worthwhile remembering that foods also add to our overall hydration levels during the day. So load your plate with salads & vegetables and have some fruits for dessert!

#7. Add soups to your weekly menu

Incorporate soups into your diet, depending on the climate you are in or the season you may enjoy cold gazpacho soups or hot ones to warm you up.

Soups are incredibly easy to make at home, great for batch cooking and will keep you hydrated too.

All the vegetables have a high amount of water in them plus of course, you have the water in the soup itself.

Check out this recipe for spicy butternut squash soup or citrus celeriac soup here.

An additional benefit of eating soups is also a large amount of fibre which is highly beneficial for your gut health.

#8. Make sure you consume enough electrolytes

Ensure that you have enough electrolytes. Electrolytes are playing a major function in balancing the water in on out of our body, losing electrolytes through sweat can hinder the body’s ability to stay hydrated.

While you increase your water intake make sure you also eat foods rich in electrolytes such as spinach, turkey, potatoes, beans, avocados, oranges, soybeans (edamame), strawberries and bananas.

And remember that most of the drinks with electrolytes on the market are high in sugar so avoid those, just stick to whole foods whenever possible.

#9. Drink smaller amounts of water more often

Drink more often but smaller amounts of water.

Your body can intake only a certain amount of water at a given moment, it will incorporate some amount of water in and pee out the rest.

Thus drinking small portions would be recommended especially for anyone who worries about peeing a lot when you start drinking more water.

Unless you are thirsty which is a sign you are already dehydrated, then go for it and down the bottle of water.

Worry about frequent trips to the toilet?

At the beginning that can happen more, the peeing. I had my clients noticing that after a while the toilet trip frequency goes down.

So yes you may pee more, but after a while when your body reaches a higher and healthier state of hydration that should decrease.

On the other hand, it is quite healthy to get up and stretch from work ideally every hour so your pee frequency will just add on to your daily movement!

#10. Drink a glass of water before you start enjoying your daily coffee

If you drink coffee have a glass of water with it, just like the French do.

While scientist debate about the effects of hydration from caffeinated drinks, one thing is clear that coffee will make you pee more.

Even if the liquid in the coffee will add to your hydration, caffeine in coffee is diuretic and will make you pee more then normally.

So if you enjoy it and don’t react badly to coffee, just have your cup but while you waiting for the kettle to boil or if you are waiting for the barista to make your favourite vanilla almond mocha drink a glass or bottle of water before!

#11. Drink more vegetable juices and smoothies

Drink smoothies and fresh ideally mainly vegetable juices.

Fruit juices are no different from a can of soft drink, so checking the juice label if you buying them is worth doing.

The first ingredient on the list are the one which there is most of.

If you really cannot stand water as of yet, don’t force it, incorporate smoothies into your diet, and just find ways make it fun and interesting, especially at the beginning before it becomes a habit.

Adding plant-based milk to your smoothie is a great option. Also, the water in fruits and vegetables will help with hydration and the fibre will additionally help with your digestion, is a win-win.

Summary

Like with everything else, tune in what works for your body type, have fun with it and don’t stress.

When you get dehydrated your body will get thirsty and you will find some water, there is no fear of dying or damaging your health.

But if you aim to improve your cognitive functions and energy levels then ensuring that you are well hydrated all the time will help.

Here is the 11 ways to drink more water and stay hydrated:

1. Start a day with a large glass of warm lemon water

2. Carry a reusable water bottle with you everywhere

3. Track your water intake in a bullet journal or phone app

4. Infuse your water with favourite fruits, herbs and veg, e.g cucumber and mint

5. Drink herbal and fruit teas which are naturally caffeine-free

6. Eat cucumber and other high in water vegetables and fruits such as melons, radishes and broccoli

7. Incorporate soups into your diet

8. Add electrolytes such as spinach, turkey, advocates and oranges to your diet

9. Drink smaller amounts more often

10. Drink a glass of water with your coffee or other caffeinated drink

11. Add smoothies to your diet

Incorporating those into your daily habits will help you combat fatigue, headaches and constipation as well as improve memory, mood and cognitive functions.

Here is my YouTube video on the same subject:

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Arleta BW

Arleta is an IIN Certified Health Coach, UK Qualifi Certified Coach, Theta Healing Certified Practitioner, and Gut Health & Nutrition Specialist. After working with many diverse clients & healing herself, she's realized that everyone’s body & needs are unique and there is no one-size-fits all solution. Arleta is dedicated to sharing her knowledge and skills with others who are struggling with the same issues she has faced so they can tune into their own intuition and find the peace, health, and energy they need to live the life they really want as well.