There are numerous drinks we consume for refreshment, but nothing beats a tall glass of moderately cold water! Everyone would agree that one glass of water is at times more refreshing than cold drink or coffee.
Many of us have a problem of not drinking water on a regular basis. But we do not realize that we deprive ourselves from one of the most essential elements that our body needs.
Below, we have listed the signs, which would help you get alert about the fact that you are not consuming as much of water you should be:
Dry mouth
This is one of the most normal conditions when you have low water content in your body. You start having a sticky and nasty feeling inside your mouth and you want to drink some liquid.
The choice is exactly at this moment – sugary drinks can temporarily quench your thirst, but it can leave permanent damages later.
If you drink water instead of any other substitutes, it lubricates our mucus membrane present inside the mouth and throat. Your saliva would maintain the moisture of the mouth, even long after you had had the first sip.
Dry skin
Skin happens to be largest organ in our body and that is why keeping is hydrated is a prime necessity. Dry skin is prone to aging 5 times more than hydrated skin is. One of the first signs of aging is due to dehydration and that can lead to more health hazards.
Low water content means low sweat, and that also means that we have less ability to wash off excess oil and dirt. Consuming at least a minimum of three liters of water everyday, would help you improve your body’s hydration.
Feeling overly thirsty
When our mouth is over dry, our tongue feels deserted! If you have ever experienced a hangover, the feeling is exactly same like how you wake up with.
Your body doesn’t get enough water while alcohol has already dehydrated your body the previous night! You must drink adequate water on hangover mornings and let the fluid level back.
There are even conditions where your body needs the liquid, but you’re just not up for drinking water, these are the times when you have to tell yourself that it is more important to fill back the water content and to put up with the unlikely circumstance.
Eyes look dry
By reading the article till now, you must have figured out that low water content affects more than your throat and mouth.
Lack of adequate water leads to dry bloodshot eyes which make you look like you’re drunk all the time! Without water content you start drying up the tear ducts.
If you cannot cry when you feel like, it could actually end up being more serious that the original reason for crying! If you also wear contact lenses on a daily basis, you need to keep a good check on your water intake, as it is important for this too.
Pain in the joint
The cartilage and spinal discs in our body requires 80% of water content. This is very important to prevent grinding of bones against each other. When you keep your body hydrated, you will be sure that your joints can withstand the sudden movements.
Activities like dancing, jumping, running, etc. can make you have sudden jerks in your body and bones, which should not affect or lead to severe conditions.
Decrease in muscle mass
Your muscles too are mostly comprised of water. The lesser the water content in our body, the lesser is the mass of our muscles! Make it a point to drink water before, during and after you workout.
This not only keeps you hydrated but also brings it to the right place. You have a decreases possibility of inflammation or soreness which could be effects from weightlifting, exercises, etc.
Sickness lingers longer
When you drink water regularly, it keeps flushing out the toxin content! Our organs start working for filtering our waste machine.
Thus, if we do not filter the machine, the toxins do not go out properly. We end up having a dehydrated body and our organs start pulling water from areas which had stored water. This can again lead to health hazards.
Lethargic
When your body is dehydrated and it starts drawing water from other parts, like blood, for example, our body tends to feel more fatigued.
Lack of proper hydration in blood cells might also mean lack of oxygen which is to be brought throughout the body. Lack of oxygen also leads to drowsiness and lethargy.
Low water content reduces the stamina of our body and you start experiencing the 2pm crash everyday! Sometimes even a cup of coffee doesn’t help and sometimes you start crashing before time!
Increased hunger pangs
When you feel dehydrated your body starts needing more food than it usually does. This goes on all through the day, and sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night, and crave for some midnight snacks! Eating more food creates stamina but drinking water purifies add fuel to the organs!
We also have to keep a tab and reduce unhealthy snacking, which increase with the craving of hunger pangs. Maintaining a proper diet with adequate water content is what your body is needs to stay healthier.
Digestive problems
Keeping the mucus hydrated in our mouth and throat is important for making our membrane function better. This has been explained above, and this is alternatively important for having improved digestion.
With inadequate hydration, the strength of the mucus goes down. This alternatively creates major damages inside the stomach and forms stomach acids. This can also lead to heartburn and indigestion.
Constipation
Keeping your body hydrated also means keeping your digestive system hydrated. When we dehydrate our body, the colon sucks up the water which was supposed to be used by our intestines in the following process of digestion.
This in turn leads to constipation and we can reverse the scenario by drinking water regularly.
Reduced urination
One of the clearest sign that you aren’t drinking enough water is when you use the washroom for 4-7 times a day only. The sign that immediately follows is when you see dark yellow colored urine.
If your urination process is fine, you would see clear or light yellowish color instead of dark yellow. You could also have infection in the urinary tract for reduced water consumption and you need to consult a doctor right away!
Premature aging
The water content in our body keeps decreasing with age. When you get older we start drinking more water consciously. Premature aging is more prominent on the outside, but the damage which they do on the inside, is felt with time!
For decreasing the condition of running your body raw, it is essential to keep on drinking water at regular intervals.
These signs are enough to tell you that you could get more serious. Start drinking water on a regular basis. Have an alarm set up on your phone which keeps you reminding at regular intervals.
Keep a water of bottle handy, and sip through every now-and-then, to avoid drinking a lot of water together. Start with 3 liters and gradually take it to 5. You will soon see an improve energy in your life!
Tips towards body hydration through water consumption
For some people, remembering to drink water is quite a task. It is like, they don’t feel thirsty and they don’t end up drinking as much as they should. Let us go through some easy tips to resolve this condition.
- The beginning of the day is usually very dehydrated. After sleeping for severals hours, you need a glass of water to wash away the toxins of the body. It is better to add lemon if you don’t want to have it plain. Some honey can enhance it a bit and you have the perfect glass of fitness and hydration.
- Try and reduce the consumption of coffee and sodas, so that you can switch over alternatives of beverages which have more water quantity. They are surely healthier and hydrating.
- Try to establish healthier habits with water consumption and reduce the ones you know are harmful for you.
- Drink a glass of water before going to bed.
- Always keep a bottle of water by your side because that will keep you reminded that you still need to drink.
- Keep a tab on how much you are drinking and know how much you’re still supposed to go on drinking.
- There are water consumption applications which you can download on your phone, and they are to give you regular alarms for drinking water. You can also add up the amount you drink every time, so that it records how much you still have to drink for the day. Water applications tell you the exact amount of water you are supposed to drink according to your age and weight.
- You are to reduce drinking and smoking which can dehydrate your body and give every possible way to harm you day by day.
