With the weather heating up how about taking a look at your water intake? Water is essential for life – although we think it’s a bit mad that you can also die of too much water! So we’re not talking the extremes here but it seems that most of us could do with upping the ante. When we do our 1-2-1 reviews in companies we measure people’s hydration in addition to their body fat and metabolic age. Usually at least 50% of people we see are under hydrated!
Water is a cheap performance booster
Water helps keep your concentration and focus during the day. With even mild dehydration, our performance dips. Think of water as one of the cheapest performance boosters and one of the most underrated nutrients available.
Ample water also keeps our skin plump and rejuvenated. So if you are eager to obtain a healthy glow that doesn’t come out of a bottle, start with watering the layers underneath first.
Tips to keep up your water intake
Often, by the time we become thirsty, we are already mildly dehydrated so try to keep on top of your water intake. Here’s a few tips and ideas
– Keep a 1 litre bottle on your desk and sip over the course of the morning. Aim to have this gone before lunch and then refill. It goes without saying that we would recommend a re-usable non-plastic bottle!
– Use a reminder if you are prone to forgetting to take drinks, even when the bottle is right in front of you. Tie in a sound or event that happens regularly, like receiving an email, your phone ringing or someone walking through your office space. We find it much easier to remember things when we make associations.
– Go decaf – these count towards water intake where actual caffeine in a diuretic which means you just wee it all out! We like Clipper decaf tea for its mild flavour and both Clipper and Nespresso do decaf coffee which uses a safe decaffeinating method. This avoids a side-order of chemicals with your cuppa. Rooibos tea is also a good substitute that you can add your wee drop of milk to so the sacred tea ritual is somewhat preserved.
– Herbal or infusions – herbal tea is also beneficial but perhaps in the summer, a cold infusion might be more appealing. You can make your own with any mix of fruit, veg and herbs – see some suggestions below. You can also now get cold herbal infusion tea bags in the supermarkets. Pop one in to your water flask to jazz things up a bit.
Refill often with Refill.ie
And don’t forget the super initiative by refill.ie – we love these water refill stations as a friend to your health and a friend to the environment yay! Check out their Tap Map to find out your nearest location to fill up.
About the author : Aine Ryan
