If the earth is composed of 75% water, the human body is made up of 60%. That’s more than half of the total. This simply means that water is an integral part of life.
It only makes sense, therefore, to replenish the body with water all the time, except of course when we sleep. If you have experienced dizziness or general fatigue without even knowing why it might just be that you are dehydrated. Moreover, water has more benefits than just hydrating the body.
Water helps regulate body temperature, boosts the brain, aids in digestion, ward of sickness, and many other benefits.
The Benefits of Drinking Water
Water regulates the body’s temperature.
Like big bodies of water regulate the earth’s temperature, so does water when inside the human body. When subjected to heat like exercise, sauna, or long exposures under the sun, the body loses water.
The water inside the body goes to the surface of the skin via sweat and will try to cool the body down. But if left unreplenished, the body’s temperature will rise because plasma and some electrolytes are also lost in the process.
It helps get the best out of your exercise.
Exercise makes you lose water in your body because of heat, and because of the full use of several muscles because this requires water. Athletes perspire more than the average person, especially during endurance sports and exercises. This case needs more water to be consumed to make up for the lost water and electrolytes.
It excretes waste through sweat, urine, and stool.
If the body can’t perform any of these, then you’re doomed.
The body needs to excrete the waste it has produced through various processes. And these wastes need to exit the body because they have the potential to do harm. Without water, your body will use up the water it has stored even if it still needs it for various functions, hence, you get dehydrated and faint.
The kidneys also need water to effectively filter out waste and excrete it through the urine and prevent the formation of kidney stones. The large intestines also need water to be able to efficiently form the stool so you don’t have to constipate.
It helps increase your overall energy.
While metabolism may be determined through age and genetics, it can be improved by a healthy lifestyle. Drinking water has never been unhealthy. In fact, it’s the exact opposite.
Drinking the recommended amount of water daily, and more when exercising, helps the body expend more energy, increasing metabolic rate, and burning more calories. The result is that you will feel invigorated and energized.
It helps with weight loss.
Water helps with metabolism and burning extra calories. It excretes wastes as well as excess in them. It also minimizes hunger pangs and makes you feel full.
If you are exercising, it will help keep you hydrated and your muscles functioning properly.
It helps with the proper circulation of oxygen in the body.
Water is a carrier of oxygen, electrolytes, and nutrients. It helps oxygen to circulate properly in the body. Most processes in the body require oxygen (oxidation), which means that water is vital for major processes in the body.
It maximizes brain function.
The brain is 73% water. That’s almost 3-quarters of its total composition. Drinking water will boost many brain functions.
Water is made up of oxygen. And while water itself is a transport medium, it helps deliver itself to the brain to provide oxygen and help the brain work at its fullest. You will see the difference in your exam, organization skills, and office efficiency.
It helps with better digestion.
Water changes the consistency of the food you eat and makes it softer so it can be digested more easily. The harder the stomach and intestines work hard to digest the food, the more acid and air is produced. And the more they are present, the more you will be bloated.
When food is broken down into smaller pieces, the easier the nutrients will be absorbed. Moreover, water helps soften the stool so you avoid being constipated.
It absorbs nutrients.
Ever heard of water-soluble nutrients? These nutrients are mostly micronutrients such as vitamins B (all of them) and C. They dissolve in water so they can be absorbed by the villi in the small intestines.
It helps improve the appearance of the skin.
Water helps improve the texture and elasticity as well and it helps the collagen make its magic. It hydrates the skin so it won’t look dull, puffy, or lack-luster. Skincare works from the skin level down, while water works from the inside-out.
Most skincare ingredients have water, but it is only used as a solvent and disappears into the air easily. Other skincare ingredients like hyaluronic acid can draw the moisture that’s in the air and trap it into the skin to keep it hydrated. But if you just drink water, your skincare won’t have to work too hard and too long for results to show.
It hydrates the whole body.
Hydration isn’t just specific to one part of the body when you drink water. It also hydrates the whole body, the organs, up to the cellular level. And because it is required by all parts of the body, it should be supplied in recommended amounts.
Dehydration can cause mild to serious problems in the body like headaches, fatigue, heat injury, kidney failure, seizures, and even death in worst cases.
Conclusion
All this information about the importance of drinking water. We all need to drink water and we all need to drink it in the recommended amounts.
But while some people easily reach their goal of 8 glasses of water a day, other people, like me, have a hard time achieving it. And the more I try to chug more, the harder it gets. But there is a trick I can teach you to help make sure you get your water intake.
I time myself every hour or an hour and a half to drink a glass of water. By the end of my day shift, I’d have completed my 8 glasses if I drink every hour. If I drink every 1 ½ hour, I’d just have 3 more glasses to drink when I get home!