If you
experience any of the following, you can improve your situation by starting
with a glass of H2O. Read below
1. Your Mouth is Dry
This seems
pretty obvious, but the ramifications might not be so. Of course, any time you feel that
sticky, nasty feeling in your mouth, you’d obviously reach for some sort of
liquid. But sugary drinks are only a temporary solution to a larger problem.
Drinking water lubricates the mucus membranes in your mouth and throat, which
will continue to keep your mouth moist with saliva long after that first sip.
2. Your Skin is Dry
Your skin
is your body’s largest organ, so of course it needs to stay
hydrated. In fact, dry skin is one of the earliest signs of full-on
dehydration, which can lead to much larger problems. A lack of water means a
lack of sweat, which leads to a body’s inability to wash away excess dirt and
oil accumulated throughout the day. If you want to stave off breakouts, your
first recourse should be to drink more water.
3. You’re Overly Thirsty
We went
over dry mouth already, but thirst goes beyond a desert-like
tongue. Anyone who’s ever had a hangover can tell you that, upon
waking up, your body just can’t get enough water. Alcohol dehydrates the entire
body, and drinking water sends “YES PLEASE!” signals to the brain until your
fluid levels get back to baseline. Listen to what your body is telling
you; it knows what it’s talking about!
4. Your Eyes Are Dry
By now it
should be clear that drinking water affects more than just your mouth and
throat. A lack of water intake leads to dry, bloodshot eyes (again, think of
that last pounding hangover). Without water in the body,your tear ducts dry
up. If you’re thinking “So what if I can’t cry?”, realize that this
could cause much more harm to your eyes, especially if you wear contacts on a
daily basis.
5. You Experience Joint Pain
Our
cartilage and spinal discs are made up of about 80% water. This is an absolute
necessity to keep our bones from grinding against each other with every step we
take. By keeping your body hydrated, you ensure that your joints can
absorb the shock of sudden movements, such as running, jumping, or
falling awkwardly.
6. Your Muscle Mass Decreases
Your
muscles, also, are comprised mostly of water. Obviously, less water in the body
means less muscle mass.
Drinking water before, during, and after a workout not only keeps you hydrated
and comfortable, it also brings water to the right places in your body, and
decreases the chance of developing inflammation and soreness related to
exercise and weightlifting.
7. You Stay Sick Longer
Drinking
water allows your body to continuously flush out toxins.
Your organs work to filter our certain waste products like a machine, but if
you don’t fuel the machine with water, it cannot work properly. What ends up
happening in a dehydrated body is organs start to pull water from stored areas
like your blood, which leads to a whole new set of problems.
8. You Feel Fatigued and Lethargic
As we just
mentioned, when a body is dehydrated it “borrows” water from your blood. A lack
of properly hydrated blood leads to a lack of oxygen being brought throughout
the body. Of course, a lack of oxygen leads to sleepiness and outright
fatigue. A lack of stamina means you”ll start to experience that 2PM
crash earlier and earlier in your day (and remember, coffee won’t help in the
long run).
9. You Experience Hunger Pangs
When
you’re dehydrated, your body might start to think it needs some
food. This happens throughout the day, and overnight when you wake
up craving that midnight snack. However, eating food creates more work for your
body, whereas drinking water purifies and your organs and supplies it with the
fuel it needs to go through the other processes a body goes through.
10. You Experience Digestive Problems
We spoke
before about the mucus in our mouth and throat, and how keeping hydrated allows
the membrane to function correctly. This also applies to the entire digestive system. Without proper
hydration, the amount and strength of mucus in the stomach lessens, allowing
stomach acid to do some major damage to your insides. This leads to what we
commonly refer to as heartburn and indigestion.
11. You Experience Constipation
Like we
said, staying hydrated helps lubricate the digestive system. During the process
of dehydration, the colon uses up the water that would have been used by the
intestines in the next step of the digestive process. Without going into too
much detail, I’ll let you figure out what a lack of lubricant in
the intestines leads to.
12. You Experience Reduced Urination
Believe it
or not, if you’re not taking a trip to the restroom 4-7 times a day, you’re probably not drinking enough water.
And when you do go #1, it should be a light yellow or clear color. If it’s a
darker yellow, your body is telling you it’s lacking proper hydration. In
extreme cases, dehydration can lead to urinary tract infections, in which case
you should consult a doctor right away.
13. You Experience Premature Aging
The amount
of water our bodies retain naturally decreases as we age. Obviously, what this
means is that, as we get older, we should consciously increase our water
intake. While premature aging is more evident on the
outside, the damage it does to our insides will ultimately be felt
over time. To decrease the risk of running your body raw, it’s important to
continue to drink water throughout your lifetime.
14. You’re Reading This And Have Gotten This Far
I drink
water all the time. I almost always have a glass or bottle of water next to me,
whether I’m working, working out, or vegging out in front of the TV. If you
clicked on this article, chances are you thought to yourself “Hm, I don’t think
I drink enough water.” So if you don’t think you do, pour a glass right now!
Don’t overdo it, of course, but if you’re not getting the recommended amount (which is higher than
you’d think), there’s no harm in drinking more. Now if you’ll excuse
me, all this typing has made me thirsty.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Contact Us
Email: publisher@absolutehearts.com
Phone/whatsapp: +2348027922363