We all know that water is essential for life, and how damaging dehydration can be to our bodies and quality of living. Even mild dehydration will affect your mood, energy, attention span, stress level, and your good looks! The solution is obvious: Drink More Water. So easy, right? Yet this vital piece of our health is so easy to neglect - especially during the holiday season when the the weather is cold and our to-do lists are full.
Why Hydration is Especially Important Over the Holidays.
- If you find yourself more stressed and moody during the holidays when you should be enjoying happy times with your family, improper hydration could be a contributing reason. Dehydration places undue stress on your body which can manifest as anxiety, headaches and joint pain, mood swings, and fatigue.
- They say the camera adds 10lbs, but dehydration can add 10 years. Dehydrated skin can appear dull, ashen, wrinkly and less radiant. Who wants that in their holiday photos?
- If you struggle with holiday weight gain every year, getting your 8-per-day can help you avoid the "Santa Belly" by curbing your appetite, improving digestion, and flushing toxins from your body. ...And for those of use who imbibe a little extra during the holidays, the last point is especially critical!
Here are Some Tips to Help You Drink More Water and Achieve Healthy Hydration this Holiday Season
Healthy Hydration Tip #1) Make it Warm & Cozy
A glass of ice cold water is wonderful on a sunny day - but might not be so appealing when you're cold. Instead, grab your favorite holiday mug and pour hot water over an orange slice and cinnamon stick for a warm and cozy beverage to sip on. Peppermint and decaffeinated herbal spice teas are another great way to up your water intake. If you're feeling fancy, try this hot spiced cranberry tea recipe (for two):
- Place a cinnamon stick, orange wedge, and spice-tea teabag into each of 2 mugs.
- Bring to a boil: 4 ounces cranberry juice, 8 ounces purified water & a few strips of orange peels.
- Remove the orange peels and pour the heated beverage into the mugs. Allow the tea to steep for about 3 minutes, then enjoy.
Healthy Hydration Tip #2) : Set Yourself Up
Think about the places where you spend the most time: Home, work, car, relative's houses, or others. Make sure you have what you need in each of those places to make your goal achievable. For example: Bring a 16 ounce travel mug with a straw to the office. The straw makes it easy to grab and sip with one hand, and the larger capacity means you're getting more water in between refills.
Healthy Hydration Tip #3) : Give it a Sense of Urgency
When we are busy (which let's face it - is pretty much always), it is far too easy to procrastinate mundane tasks like refilling your glass. To make sure your water intake doesn't fall between the cracks at work, try this: Drink a glass of water as soon as you arrive at work and bring a full glass back to your work station. Each time you get up to use the bathroom, first finish what is left in your glass; then refill your glass before heading back to your desk; and repeat. It may be easy to procrastinate refilling your water glass, but the call of nature is not quite as easy to ignore. And the beauty of this system is that it's self perpetuating! The more water you drink, the more you will use the restroom, the more water you will drink, and so on.
Healthy Hydration Tip #4) Eat Your Water
When the weather gets cold, it's easier to gravitate toward comfort foods - because let's face it: while water-rich fruits and salads may be a staple during warmer months, a crisp apple just doesn't sound as appealing as a warm muffin on a cold winter day. A hot bowl of soup is the ultimate winter comfort food and is chock full of hydrating water and electrolytes. Chicken noodle and ham bone soups are holiday staples in the USA and are great healthy choice. To add some variety, try your hand at some more global recipes like Mexican Albondigas Soup, Vietnamese Pho, Thai Tom Kha, French Onion Soup, or Japanese Miso Soup. You're bound to find some new favorites that will become new holiday traditions in your home.
Healthy Hydration Tip #5): Alternate Drinks at Parties
With the holidays come the holiday parties and festivities ...and with those festivities come libations and sugary foods which can accelerate dehydration by acting as a diuretic and flushing water out of your body. To mitigate this, drink a glass of water between every alcoholic beverage. Tomorrow-morning-you will thank you!
Healthy Hydration Tip #6) Take it to Go
√ Keys
√ Phone
√ Wallet
√ Water
Don't leave home without your water in hand to sip on as you're out and about doing your holiday shopping and daily activities. Consider getting a reusable bottle with a strap or clip to make it easier to carry.
Take this a step further by personalizing your bottle or mug with stickers to make it into a personal and stylish accessory.
Healthy Hydration Tip #7) Make it Easy
All the good intentions and practices in the world will fall flat if you run out of water to drink. Buying, carrying, and storing expensive, heavy and bulky cases of bottled water is not a sustainable solution - not for you and definitely not for mother earth. We recommend choosing a sustainable solution that will ensure you have an endless supply of drinking water on hand. There are water filtration solutions out there to fit any situation. From basic water filter pitchers or countertop RO systems for those living in apartments, to the classic under sink reverse osmosis, and even the more bougie alkaline water systems, and customizable mineral RO systems.
There are a variety of ways to make clean, great-tasting water that is better than bottled water to have readily available on tap at home or in your office.
We at WaterAnywhere wish you and yours a happy, healthy, and hydrated holiday season.
We strive to be a resource for healthy and sustainable water treatment solutions. Our team of water treatment experts is available to help you choose the water filtration equipment that fits your needs. Browse our catalog online or contact us today.