Drinking Water – Tips For Optimal Physical And Mental Health

Water is one of those things we take for granted – until we don’t have it (which for most of us in the western world is never an issue we’ve had to face, so far, at least).

And yet it plays such a vital part in our life overall, and, specifically, in our diet.

It may seem like a largely tasteless, colourless liquid, but its apparent simplicity in no way tells the whole truth.

This article investigates the many benefits of drinking water, how much you should drink, as well as tips on what not to do, and what you should do.

Benefits Of Correct Hydration

1. Backache Reduction. Our spinal disk core contains a large amount of water, for protection, so dehydration can deplete this supply and lead to backache.
2. Breathing Support. Water plays its part in the transportation of gases around the body – e.g. oxygen to your muscles, and the return of carbon dioxide to your lungs.
3. Calorie Control. Drinking water can be a valuable part of your weight loss plan, not because it has any magical properties of its own, but because people who drink water, which contains zero calories, usually imbibe it to replace high-calorie drinks.

   In addition, food that has a relatively high water content (e.g. beans, broth-based soups, fruits, oatmeal, and vegetables) can make you feel fuller so you eat less.

4. Cardiovascular Disease Prevention. If the viscosity of your blood and plasma are incorrect, there is an increased risk of heart disease and related problems. Drinking adequate water helps maintain optimal viscosity.
5. Cognitive Function Improvement. Being well-hydrated allows you to perform more complex tasks than somebody who is dehydrated. In addition, it can boost your memory and improve overall brain function.
6. Constipation Prevention. Being dehydrated can lead to constipation (which can not only be painful but also dangerous). Drinking water (and consuming enough fibre) can prevent this.
7. Cramp And Sprain Easing. Water can help reduce the pain of both muscle cramps and sprains, which are sometimes due to dehydration.
8. Energy Levels. Drinking water helps maintain a healthy pH balance (it needs to be just above 7), which in turn improves your ability to take in oxygen, and consequently provide you with more energy.
9. Fluid Balance. The body is made up of about 60% water, and the various bodily fluids are important for functions such as absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, digestion, maintenance of body temperature, and transportation of nutrients. Water helps to keep all these fluids in balance.
10. Headache Reduction. Research shows that many headaches, including migraines, are nothing more than the result of dehydration. One Dutch study found that the total number of hours of headaches, and their intensity, were reduced after drinking just over 50 fluid ounces (1.5 liters) of water per day for a period of 12 weeks.

    Drinking water can also mitigate the symptoms of a hangover – which is largely caused by dehydration (because alcohol is a diuretic).

11. Immune Boost. Again, because of its acid-reducing properties, drinking water can help your immune system better deal with diseases and infections.
12. Kidney Protection. Drinking enough fluids allows your kidneys to do their job of eliminating toxins from your body. If you are dehydrated, they cannot work effectively, and you can also end up with kidney stones.
13. Muscle Fatigue. When you don’t drink enough fluids, your muscles can “shrivel” and perform less efficiently.
14. Osteoporosis Prevention. A study conducted by the Linus Pauling Institute found that drinking enough water can help prevent both hip fractures and osteoporosis.
15. Physical Performance Boost. Studies have shown that even mild dehydration can cause a dip in performance and endurance.
16. Skin Tone. When you don’t drink enough water, your skin can become dry and wrinkled. Being adequately hydrated can prevent this. (Note that, once you have drunk enough, your kidneys will excrete excess fluids – it won’t suddenly remove any wrinkles if you keep drinking more than your body needs.)
17. Temperature Regulation. The body uses fluids (e.g. water) to help regulate its temperature (e.g. by sweating in hot weather).
18. Toxin Removal. When you drink enough water, it helps your body remove waste products such as toxins from your body.

How Much Water Should You Drink?

This is probably the most common question when you tell somebody they need to drink enough water, and it is, of course, a fair one.

The most popular answer is probably eight glasses of water (or more), but the real answer is not a one-size-fit-all one.

Another suggestion is to drink two to three cups of water per hour. However, that seems excessive to me – if you are awake for just ten hours during the day, that would be 20 – 30 cups of water, which is much higher than most other recommendations. (One US cup is 8 fluid ounces, or about 236 ml.)

The plan I like the most is to drink one fluid ounce (30 ml) of water for each two pounds (907 g) of body weight. I like this because, leaving all other factors (see below) aside, it at least takes your own body into account.

There are many factors that affect how much water you should drink, including (but not limited to):

• Activity levels (it is recommended that you drink about 17 fluid ounces two hours before exercise, and then drink regularly during your work-out to replace lost fluids).
• Breastfeeding (where an additional two cups, or 473 ml, may be required per day).
• Diet (because, depending on what you eat, about 20% of our water intake can come from your food).
• Gender (one study recommends that men need more like 12 cups, or 2,839 ml, per day, while women need only 9 cups, or 2,129 ml).
• Health issues (e.g. if you have a thyroid problem, you may need to increase your intake).
• Pregnancy (where an additional two cups, or 473 ml, or so per day may be required).
• Weather conditions (because you may need to drink more in hot weather to replace fluids lost by sweating).

How To Check If You’re Dehydrated

There are a few things you can check yourself to see if you need to drink more water:

1. Blood Pressure. If your blood pressure is lower than usual. (You may also find your heart racing.)
2. Cognitive Functions. If you feel less alert than normal, or find it difficult to concentrate or focus or remember / recall things.
3. Constipation. If you have fewer or difficult bowel movements.
4. Dizziness. If you feel dizzy or temporarily disoriented.
5. Fainting. If you pass out. (This is one of the more severe symptoms.)
6. Fatigue. If you feel fatigued, lethargic, or tired (or, at least, more than normal).
7. Headache. If you have a headache or migraine. (Even being a tiny bit dehydrated can cause these pains.)
8. Hunger. There is a hypothesis, yet to be confirmed, that dehydration can lead to feeling hungry.
9. Mood. If you feel more anxious, depressed, or stressed out than usual.
10. Nauseated. If you feel like you need to throw up.
11. Pain. If you are more sensitive to pain than usual.
12. Skin. If it’s clammy, cold, cracked, dry, flaky, or rough.
13. Mouth. If you’re low on saliva.
14. Thirst. Some say that if you feel thirsty you are already technically dehydrated.
15. Urine. If your urine is darker than a pale straw colour. (Note that some vitamin supplements can also change the the colour of your urine.)

As with many of these self-diagnosis checklists, they are only intended to act as a guide, and if you only experience one of these signs, that does not mean you are definitely dehydrated.

Generally speaking, the more of the listed symptoms you have, the more likely it is that you are not drinking enough water.

And don’t forget, there is no substitute for consulting a medical professional.

Can You Drink Too Much Water?

The short answer is yes, you can.

There are two main issues:

1. Hyponatremia.
2. Water intoxication.

Hyponatremia is a condition where your blood sodium levels become too low.

Symptoms can range from mild (e.g. a decreased ability to think, headaches, nausea, and poor balance) to severe (e.g. confusion, seizures, and even coma).

Drinking excessive amounts of water is one of several causes of this condition. (Others include some medications, heart, kidney or liver problems, chronic or severe diarrhoea, hormonal changes, and Ecstasy.)

Water intoxication occurs when too much water enters the body’s cells, causing the tissues to swell with all that excess fluid, leading to an electrolyte imbalance.

Symptoms of water intoxication include:

• behaviors resembling alcohol intoxication
• fluid in the lungs
• fluttering eyelids
• irregular heartbeat

At worst, it can lead to seizures, coma, and even death.

While these conditions are generally rare, they are somewhat more common in babies who are given water instead of breastmilk or formula, or whose formula is over-diluted.

It’s important to note that these problems do not normally occur because of how much liquid is consumed (the body can successfully process almost four US gallons, or 15 liters, of water a day), but how quickly it is consumed.

So if you stop drinking when you no longer feel thirsty, you should be OK.

Why You Shouldn’t Drink Cold Water

I don’t doubt that drinking iced water is refreshing, but there are a few potential dangers, including:

1. Dirty Ice. If your cold drink includes ice, then be aware that the ice may be contaminated with bacteria and/or fungus. And this doesn’t only apply to ice from places like fast food outlets – it can also happen in your own home.
2. Headaches. For those prone to migraines especially, drinking cold water can trigger a headache.
3. Impaired Digestion. Drinking cold water shrinks your blood vessels, causing ineffective digestion and a consequent loss of nutrients. It is also believed that cold water drunk during meals can harden oils, leading to fatty deposits in your intestines.
4. Lower Heart Rate. Cold water can stimulate the vagus nerve, leading to a drop in heart rate.
5. Sore Throat. If the water you drink is extremely cold, it can cause a build-up of mucus, with a consequent increased risk of infection in your throat.
6. Wasted Energy. When you ingest something that is lower than the body’s natural temperature (i.e. an average of 98.6 F or 37 C), it has to expend energy maintaining its core temperature when it could be using that energy to digest food and absorb nutrients, for example.

Why You Should Drink Warm Water

This may not sound very appealing, but drinking warm (or even hot) water has additional benefits over those listed above:

1. Better Mood, because receptors in your intestines, mouth, stomach, and oesophagus are stimulated, which in turn stimulates the pleasure centres of your brain.
2. Clearing Congestion, because it can dissolve phlegm and mucus, and help clear your airways.
3. Detoxification, because the warm water triggers sweating, which is one mechanism by which toxins are flushed out of your body.
4. Improving Digestion, because it can boost the metabolism, which helps your digestive system perform more effectively.
5. Increased Circulation, because the warm water breaks down deposits of fat that are in the bloodstream and helps remove them.
6. Inhibiting Constipation, because the hot water can help break down food remnants and flush them out of your intestines.
7. Pain Relief, because it has a soothing effect on your abdominal muscles (which means it can also relieve menstrual cramping).
8. Preventing Premature Aging, because the warm water can help flush compounds out of your body.
9. Weight Loss, when drunk first thing in the morning, because it increases your body temperature and kick starts your metabolism

Warm water would be in the range 120 F – 140 F (49 C – 60 C), while hot water would be no more than 160 F (71 C).

What Sort Of Water Should You Drink?

While you may think water is just water, there are in fact many types.

The best type is generally believed to be reverse osmosis water, which removes almost all impurities from water. These can be somewhat expensive, however.

Whatever, you should still use some sort of water filter in your home, and options include:

• A whole-house water filtration system.
• A brand called Berkey usually gets great reviews.
• And if all else fails, even a basic filter jug (e.g. Brita) is better than nothing.

You can also buy (or make) “clean” water:

• Distilled water, although this can also remove necessary trace minerals, so it’s important you replace those with a good mineral supplement.
• Spring water, which you need to be careful with because you really don’t know where it has come from or what has been done to it. Some of it may be nothing more than tap water in a fancy bottle! Your best bet is to try to find a local spring water, where you can verify the actual source and how it has been processed.

The one thing you should not do is drink unfiltered water from your tap / faucet.

For example, in the USA, many cities still add fluoride to the public water supply – and fluoride has been shown in several studies to lower IQ. It was also classified by The Lancet as a neurotoxin.

Lemon Water

I would like to finish this article with a recommendation to drink lemon water first thing in the morning.

Lemon juice has a few benefits of its own too, including:

1. Alkalizing. Yes, lemon juice is acidic, with a pH value of 2, but once your body metabolizes it, it becomes alkaline, with a much higher pH value (of over 7).
2. Digestion. It can help boost your digestive system, meaning you obtain more nutrients from the food you consume.
3. Immune System. Lemon is one of several great sources of vitamin C, which is vital for a healthy immune system.
4. Toxin Elimination. Lemon can stimulate your liver, helping to remove waste products and toxins from your body.

So, how do you make lemon water?

This is the best way that I have come across so far:

1. Half-fill a glass with water and make sure it is at room temperature.
2. Fill the glass with freshly boiled water.
3. Add the juice from half a freshly squeezed lemon.
4. Optionally, sprinkle a dash of cayenne pepper on top.

Once you’ve made it, you should drink at least 12 fluid ounces (or 355 ml) of this lemon water, followed by at least 8 fluid ounces (237 ml) of filtered water.

Conclusion

So, it seems as though water has much more to offer than simply quenching our thirst on a hot day.

Personally, not drinking enough fluids has been an issue for me all of my life.

I used to drink a lot of soda (e.g. Pepsi), but stopped that over 15 years ago now. These days, I drink a lot of water – some cold, which I obviously need to stop – as well as drinks such as green tea, and, during winter, herbal teas (e.g. turmeric, peppermint, basil).

In my quest to make myself drink more water, I did find a hypnosis program useful. I didn’t really expect it to work, but I was pleasantly surprised by its effects.

In spite of all that, I still find that during summer (it gets very hot here) I drink plenty, but during winter (where it gets very cold), my liquid consumption drops significantly, so I have work to do on this one myself.

Anyway, I hope you found this article both interesting and useful.

Additional Resources

These are suggestions for those who wish to delve deeper into any of the above:

1. Berkey Water Filters
2. Cooking Measurement Converter
3. Drink Water Hypnosis Program
4. Hydration Calculator
5. Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration Systems
6. Trace Minerals Supplement
7. Water Filter Jugs
8. Whole House Water Filtration Systems