Start your day off with water (and keep the drinks coming)
When was the last time you reached for a glass of water first thing in the morning — instead of getting your caffeine fix? You probably already know that staying properly hydrated throughout the day is a basic rule of a healthy lifestyle. It balances chemical processes in the brain, keeps your organs functioning properly and aids in recovery after a tough workout. In addition, there may be something extra beneficial to drinking a glass of water right after you wake up.
Top of the Morning
Your body cannot produce enough water through metabolism to meet its daily needs. This is why we need to drink enough to function properly.* If you spend 6-8 hours sleeping, that’s a long time to go without one sip of water. However, when you wake up, your brain may be wired to think of coffee first. Instead, consider re-training yourself to drink water first.
Boost Your Morning Workout
If you work out in the morning, drinking water first thing can help you ward off breakfast hunger. It can also help you burn fat. This is partly due to what is known as water's “thermogenic effect.” This has to do with the energy required to warm up cold water in the digestive tract after consumption. Multiple studies have shown that water-induced thermogenesis has the potential to increase the body's metabolic rate by 24%-30% in adults, and the effect lasts about an hour.
Improve Your Mental Performance
If you are even just a little dehydrated when you wake up, it can result in brain fog. Unfortunately, a double shot of espresso probably won’t clear things up much (or at least, only temporarily). Water, however, has been shown to increase alertness and short-term memory performance. Drinking it before you start your day is a great way to combat fatigue and improve your concentration.
Achieve Better Gut Health
Consistently drinking water throughout the day will help your body naturally filter out toxins via the kidneys. This doesn’t mean you have to drag a 2-liter jug along with you everywhere you go. Just take a good, long, satisfying drink once every couple of hours or so (to help, set a reminder on your smart watch or phone). By hydrating more, you're getting rid of bad bacteria in your system, which allows the good bacteria in your gut to grow and thrive.
According to the Mayo Clinic, there's no one-size-fits-all recommendation for how much water is needed every day, but starting off with a full glass of water can have real benefits.
*Fun fact: the human brain is composed of 95% water, lungs are 90%, blood is 83%, muscles are 76% and bones are 22%.
Sources: U.S. Geological Survey (U.S. Department of the Interior); National Center of Biotechnology Information (National Institutes of Health); Mayo Clinic; Kmotion Research.
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