11 Genius Tips to Drink More Water Each Day
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. For more information, please read the full disclosure here.
Water is so important for your overall health – both your physical and mental health. In this post, you are going to learn 11 genius tips to drink more water each day.
If you’re often busy or overwhelmed throughout the day, it can be easy to forget to drink enough water. Running errands or being stuck in back to back meetings can be distracting and lead to hydration slipping your mind.
Trust me, I’ve been there, too.
However, hydration is an important healthy habit to incorporate into your daily life. It’s worth the energy and commitment for sure.
You want to drink more water…but how much water should you drink every day?
Every day you lose water through bodily functions like sweating, breathing, urinating, etc. Therefore, it’s important to replenish your fluids throughout the day.
When thinking of tips to drink more water, you may often think of the advice to “Drink 8 glasses a day”. However, it turns out there isn’t a lot of scientific findings backing that recommendation. While it’s a good goal, it might actually be a little shy of how much water you should drink every day.
For women, it’s recommended to aim for about 9-11 glasses of water per day. But this number can vary depending on several factors.
Other factors that impact how much water you should drink:
- Exercise and physical activity
- Temperature
- Your health (i.e. fever, vomiting, etc. will require you to replenish more often)
- Elevation
- Pregnancy or breast-feeding
And of course, every person is different. Some people may need to replenish fluids more often than others.
You may also find that you can be hydrated enough just through drinking every time you feel thirsty throughout the day, while others may need to put more effort into remembering to drink water.
Benefits of learning to drink more water
Water has several health benefits for both your physical and mental health.
Increase energy and performance
Drinking water helps to boost your energy. Dehydration can cause you to feel fatigued or weak, so proper hydration will combat that.
Drinking water also increases your athletic performance and helps improve your functioning when exercising.
Prevent headaches and dizziness
Another benefit of drinking water is preventing headaches or dizziness. Dehydration can cause you to feel pain, dizzy, and get more frequent headaches.
If you get frequent headaches, definitely consider increasing the amount of water you drink each day.
Improve digestion and prevent constipation
Drinking enough water will help you prevent constipation. Water helps to improve your digestive functioning and keep you regular.
Boost your skin health
Another benefit of drinking water is boosting your skin health. Water helps to prevent wrinkles and will leave your skin looking bright and clear.
Improve kidney function
Increased water intake can help improve your kidney functioning and even potentially prevent kidney stones.
Increase cognitive function
Dehydration can reduce brain functioning, concentration, and memory. Therefore, drinking enough water will help prevent this and improve your cognitive functioning.
Improve your overall mood
Drinking enough water will also improve your mood. Improper hydration can lead to irritability, anxiety, and fatigue all of which will impact your mood throughout the day.
Now let’s get into the 11 tips to drink more water each day…
Now that you know the numerous physical and mental health benefits of drinking enough water every day, let’s get into top tips for how to drink more water.
1. Set daily goals
A great way to build up any health habit is to set goals. Set a goal for how much water you want to drink every day. I recommend choosing a goal within the recommend amount of water consumption for women, 9-11 glasses per day.
When setting any goal, it’s important to set S.M.A.R.T. goals to ensure they are as effective as possible. This means a goal that is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based.
If you’re unfamiliar with S.M.A.R.T. goals, I have outlined in detail what each letter means below:
S – Specific: You want to decide what exactly you want to do. Make your goals particular, not vague. For example, don’t set a goal “to drink more water”, set a goal to drink 9 glasses per day instead.
M – Measurable: Make goals easy to measure success and track progress. So in the previous example, a goal to drink 9 glasses of water per day is measurable because you can measure how much you actually drink.
A – Attainable: You also want to make sure the goal you set is realistic for you to achieve. This is so important because if it starts to feel like your goal is impossible then you will be much more likely to give up.
R – Relevant: It is also important to set goals that are relevant to your life, values, and lifestyle. When you set relevant goals, you will feel more motivated to work towards them and achieve them.
T- Time-bound: Lastly, you want to set goals that are time-bound. This last item means that you set a time frame for when you want to achieve the goal. So closing out the running example, you may set your goal to drink 9 glasses of water every day for one month.
For more information on how to set goals and achieve them, read more here.
2. Drink a glass of water when you wake up and before bed
Another one of the best tips to drink more water is to tie it to a time of day or action you do every day. Try to drink a glass of water every day when you first wake up and before bed.
Drinking water when you wake up is especially beneficial because it will set the tone for the rest of the day and likely increase the likelihood of you continuing healthy hydration throughout the day. It’s also better for your stomach to drink water before hitting it with coffee.
3. Track your water consumption
What you measure gets done. By tracking your water consumption, you will be more likely to increase your water consumption and reach your goals.
There are several ways you can track your water consumption. One of the best ways that I like to do it is with my Fitbit. In the Fitbit app you can track your water consumption, set daily goals, and get reminders to drink more water.
You can also track your water consumption with a high-tech water bottle like this one that tracks your water as you drink it. And not only does it track how much you drink, it also glows throughout the day to remind you to drink water.
4. Carry a reusable water bottle
Another way to drink more water is by carrying a reusable water bottle with you. Bring one to work, while running errands, etc.
Just the presence of having a water bottle will jog your memory and prompt you to drink more. Additionally, it will make drinking water more convenient, because when you get thirsty you won’t have to track water down, buy a water bottle, or wait until your near water again to drink.
I love this one from Simple Modern because it’s 32 ounces so I don’t have to refill as often as I do with a smaller bottle. It also has a straw that makes it easy to drink. You’ll find that you drink faster with a straw, and therefore drink more.
This water bottle also keeps your water cold so long leaving it tasty all day long!
5. Refill often
In order to drink more water, you should also refill your water bottle often. A good rule of thumb to follow is to refill your water bottle as soon as it becomes empty.
That way, you’ll never be without water throughout the day.
6. Set reminders
If you tend to forget to drink enough water throughout the day or have a busy schedule, it can help to set reminders.
Set a notification on your phone to remind you to drink some water every hour.
7. Add fruit to your water
Another one of the best tips to drink more water is to add fruit to your water. A great way to increase your water intake is to make it taste a little better! Add some fruit, mint, and/or ice to your water to make it tastier.
Some great combinations of fruit to add to your water are strawberry and kiwi, citrus fruits, or lemon and mint.
8. Mix it up
Sometimes drinking plain water can start to get boring after a while. A great way to increase your hydration is to mix it up from time to time.
Drink some vitamin water, sparkling water, etc. instead of tap water for a fun treat that will still be hydrating.
9. Replace other drinks with water
Another way to drink more water is to replace other beverages you typically drink throughout the day with water instead. Swap out that soda or sports drink with water.
Not willing to cut those out completely? You can also water down sugary drinks like soda and lemonade to get some more water in while still enjoying your daily treat.
10. Eat more foods that are high in water content
An innovative way to increase your water intake is to eat more foods high in water.
Examples of foods that are high in water include:
- Watermelon
- Strawberries
- Peaches
- Celery
- Skim milk
- Cantaloupe
- Lettuce
- Cucumber
- Tomatoes
- Bell peppers
All of the foods in this list contain 89% water or more, so they can help to increase your hydration just by eating them.
11. Reward yourself for reaching your goals
Lastly, one of the best ways to drink more water is to reward yourself when you reach your hydration goals.
Meet your daily water consumption goal each day for a whole week? Give yourself a reward!
Rewarding yourself will help you feel a sense of accomplishment and increase your likelihood to stick to your goals in the future.
Those are the 11 tips to drink more water each day.
Drinking water and staying properly hydrated is beneficial for both your physical and mental health.
From improving digestive health to athletic performance to your mood – staying well-hydrated will help keep your health in check.
Use these 11 tips to increase your water intake and meet your daily water consumption goals.
Comment below with your favorite way to drink more water each day.
One Comment