Summer means outdoor activities, trips to the pool, camping, and vacations. It also means stifling heat and humidity that can be detrimental to your health. Dehydration can be dangerous.
The experts suggest taking in eight glasses of fresh water every day. And while that may seem impossible, especially with little ones, there are easy-to-implement tips and tricks to prioritize drinking water throughout the day. As your local water experts and water supplier, we wanted to share some helpful hydration tips to ensure you stay refreshed and hydrated no matter what the summer brings.
1. Enjoy a Fresh Glass of H2O in the Morning
During the summer months, consider creating a morning water-drinking routine. Drink a full glass of fresh H20 first thing in the morning, before breakfast, and start your day with a hydrated body. It’s a great way to jumpstart your metabolism, and it wakes up your senses for a more energized result.
2. Before You Eat, Drink Water
Summer is also great for barbecues and delicious food. But it can be hard to drink water and stay hydrated when you’re full. So, before you settle in with juicy burgers and summer snacks, drink water. You can ensure you get your infusion of fluids before you get too full. And water helps to aid digestion, too!
3. Set Reminders to Hydrate
Sometimes, staying hydrated is a matter of just remembering to drink water. You might not normally be a water drinker, making it easy to overlook how much you intake. Consider setting reminders on your phone to drink water. Regular notifications will help keep water on top of mind awareness. And it’s a great way to prioritize water consumption for active kids all summer long.
4. Pay Attention to Your Body’s Hydration Signals
It’s also mission-critical that you be mindful of your body’s cues about hydration. Your body will essentially tell you when it’s running low on water. And sometimes, hunger is mistaken for thirst. If you feel lightheaded, drink water. If you’re experiencing a dry mouth, drink water. And keep an eye on the frequency of your trips to the restroom, along with the appearance of your urine. When you’re hydrated, your urine will be lighter in color, and you’ll be visiting the restroom more frequently.
5. Make Water Fun to Drink
When it comes to enforcing healthy hydration habits for yourself and your whole family, look for ways to make it fun. Consider carrying around trendy or fun water bottles. Use silly straws to get the kids to drink water in a fun way. And sample the variety of water flavorings available to change up the taste of water.
6. Take Water with You
Staying fully hydrated during the stiflingly hot summer months can be one-part convenience. If you don’t have something refreshing to sip on, you won’t necessarily go out of your way to find something. So another helpful water-drinking tip is to keep a small cooler of water in your vehicle. Take a refreshing water bottle with you wherever you go. And having something to drink readily available will make it much easier and far more convenient to stay refreshed and hydrated.
7. Turn It Into a Contest
Inspiring kids to drink water can be challenging, especially when they’re always on the go with summer activities. But you can encourage them to boost their water intake by making a game or contest of it. Consider tracking how much water everyone in the household drinks in a day. The person who consumes the most water by the end of the week, earns a prize. Turning hydration health into a game is a great way to prioritize regular consumption and keep water drinking on your kids’ top of mind.
8. Infuse Water with Fruit
Add more nutritional value to your water-drinking efforts by putting pieces or slices of fruit in your water for flavor and nutrients. Fruits contain water on their own, so they’re great sources of quick hydration when you eat them raw. But you can change up your water flavors brilliantly with fresh strawberries, blueberries, or lemon slices, too. Adding fruit can be just the change of pace you need to remain committed to drinking water throughout the day.
9. Chew on Ice
If you’re not an avid water drinker, you might be able to keep ice chips handy for “water snacking.” Some people can get more water intake by keeping a cup of ice at their work stations or with them throughout the day. Consider chewing on ice chips as a creative way to stay hydrated.
10. Set Water Goals
Wishful thinking won’t help you sustain your water-drinking habits alone. Consider creating water goals for yourself and the whole family, making them visible with charts on the fridge. If you’re goal-setting just for you, share your goals with co-workers or others you spend time with for an added support boost to stick with it.
11. Swap for Seltzer
Stay hydrated this summer by swapping sugary drinks and sodas with water when you can. And if you’re not into natural water, go ahead and order the seltzer or the unsweetened tea. Essentially both still are primarily water-based, providing you with the hydration properties you need. And one or two conscious decisions to avoid sugar-laden beverages is a health improvement overall.
12. Take Water to Bed
Consider taking a glass of water to bed with you, even if it’s just encouraging a few sips before your sleep. And if you wake up, take another sip. Every drop of water will benefit in encouraging nighttime digestion and overall hydration.
13. Eat Foods High in Water
In addition to consuming H2O, look to stay hydrated with summer-fun foods that are high in water content. Healthline says the following foods are great hydration boosters.
- Cantaloupe: 90% water
- Celery: 95% water
- Lettuce: 96% water
- Watermelon: 91% water
- Zucchini: 95% water
- Cabbage: 92% water
- Honeydew: 90% water
Have fun out there this summer but don’t forget to also stay hydrated! Keep these tips handy and prioritize water consumption to ensure you, as well as the members of your family, stay refreshed and healthy. And when you need a better at-home or workplace water solution, call Palm Springs Bottled Water! From bottled water to water cooler solutions, we can keep you stocked with all the fresh water needed for a healthy and hydrated summer!