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When you think about Health, Wellbeing and Fitness, I bet one of the last things you think about is water. Why would you?... well, for a start your body is made up of around 60% water, give or take.
Water plays a very important part in our lives, and drinking more water can give you some pretty big benefits. It is recommended that you drink 2-3 litres every single day.
Lets take a look at some of the benefits of drinking more water:
Physical performance can suffer greatly if you do not stay hydrated, and is particularly important during intense exercise or when exercising is high heat. Performance can be compromised if you lose as little as just 2% of your water content, although it is common for athletes to lose as much as 5-10% of their bodies water content through sweating.
Issues such as body temperature control, increased fatigue and reduced motivation can make exercising much more difficult, both physically and mentally.
Keeping properly hydrated helps to prevent this from happening, as well as help in reducing oxidative stress that is caused through intense exercise.
Studies have show that keeping hydrated can help reduce certain types of headaches and migraines. While this is not an exact science, and may not cure these symptoms entirely, keeping hydrated can have the effect of reducing the intensity or duration in a large cross section of people.
Constipation is quite a common problem, in both young and old. Studies have shown that keeping hydrated can help in the passing of stools.
Did you know your skin is an organ? In fact it is the largest organ in the human body! If you do not keep it hydrated by consuming enough water it can become dry, tight and flaky, and can show signs of ageing prematurely. A body that is regularly hydrated properly will benefit from:
Drinking water can help you maintain or even lose weight. This happens as staying hydrated helps boost your metabolic rate.
Studies have also shown that drinking water 30 minutes before eating a meal can also help as it helps to make you feel fuller, therefore you consume fewer calories.
Alcohol is a diuretic, which means it will make you lose more water that you take in to your body, which can lead to dehydration, and although this is not the main cause of a hangover it can lead to headaches, dry-mouth, fatigue and thirst.
Drinking plenty of water before, during and after the consumption of (excessive) alcohol will help reduce these symptoms, and therefore help reduce the effects of a hangover.
Water helps cushion your your joints, tissues and spinal cord, and keeps them lubricated, which in turn helps with your enjoyment of physical activity. A well hydrated body can help reduce ageing conditions associated with the joints such as arthritis.
Those are just a few ways that water plays a huge part in our health, wellbeing and fitness. If you know of others why not share them for others in the comments below...
