Keeping hydrated, and the reasons why
We know that it’s important to keep hydrated, but we also know it can be hard to keep track of how much water you’ve had during the day, especially if you’ve been busy or simply just don’t remember. Exactly how much you need to drink can vary from person to person, but it is important that most of your intake comes from water itself rather than other drinks like juice or coffee. If you have concerns about how much water you should be drinking, make sure to talk to your doctor.
In honour of Nutrition and Hydration week (March 14th to 20th), we’ve put together a few tips on how to keep yourself hydrated, and some benefits that come with it.
Benefits of keeping hydrated
Keeping hydrated is really important to make sure your body is able to do what it needs to keep running at its best. It’ll help to keep you and your organs functioning well, including your brain and digestive system, and stop you from feeling as tired as you might be without enough water.
Five easy hydration tips
- Find a style of bottle that you love to drink from and is easy for you to fill up – you’ll never want to go anywhere without it, even while at home.
- Use a kitchen timer to remind you when it’s time to have a drink. Set your timer for an hour once you’ve had some water and you’ll know exactly when it’s time to hydrate.
- If you walk past your fridge a lot, use some magnets to keep track of how many glasses of water you’ve had. Simply turn 8 or so magnets upside down when you wake up and turn one back each time you have a glass of water – make it your daily goal to get them all back the right way up!
- If you avoid drinking water because you struggle to swallow, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about water thickening agents. These usually come in a powder form that you can mix in to liquids to make swallowing them easier.
- Find things you’re doing regularly or that happen regularly in your day and use them as a reminder to have a drink. It might be a specific ad on radio or TV, or when you finish a crossword or a chapter in a book. Combine different things throughout to the day to keep yourself hydrated!
If this is one of the day-to-day tasks that you think your loved could use some help with, the team at Senior Helpers can assist. To find out more about our in-home care services, please contact us.