Two Parts Hydrogen, One part Oxygen

Welcome back! I'm going to switch gears a bit this week and talk about how we can ensure our mental performance is optimal to enable our success. In order to live the way we want to live, we must operate efficiently and effectively. One area of most importance is our hydration. As you read this post, think back, how much water did you consume today? If you are scratching your head right now, or just realized there might be a large gap between now and when you had your last drink please read on, as you are not setting your body up to live that life you want to live.

I will be completely transparent with you; this is an area that I must actively work on every day. It is by far the most important thing you can do to stay cognitive fit. The average human body is 75% water. The brain and heart are composed of 73% water, and the lungs are about 83% water. What does this tell us? Well, we need to be just as concerned about our water consumption as we are concerned about living the life we want to live. Dehydration has drastic effects on our basic functions. Water aids in digestion, removal of waste, protection for our tissues, joints and spinal cord, and brain function for our bodies. Dehydration can lead to brain fog, decrease your attention and concentration by as much as 13% and reduce your short-term memory recall by 7%. It seems like this is a no-brainer to ensure we are getting enough water, yet 75% of Americans may suffer from chronic dehydration.

So what can we do to ensure we are consuming enough water daily? I use the word consume here because drinking water isn't the only way to ensure you are getting enough water. What we eat, can also aid in hitting your daily need. Unlucky for us, we typically start our days behind in our water consumption, based on our sleep. The 7-8 hours of sleep we typically get (or should) is the longest we go without water in our day, so we start our days our dehydrated. So Tip #1, drink a glass of water within the first hour of waking up and kick-start your hydration with water before getting your cup of coffee (coffee is a hydration robber). Did you know that 20% of our daily water intake comes from solid foods, especially fruits and vegetables. I'll admit, I am not a huge fan of drinking straight water, so knowing that I can eat some of the water intake needed is a huge plus for me. Tip #2, eat your fruits and veggies to help hit your appropriate water intake. Guess what vegetable has the highest water content…..cucumber, water content around 96.7%. Click on this link to see a list of foods and their water content.

You may be wondering how much water do I need to drink? Great question, but it is also a hard one to answer, as it all depends on the person. A person's appropriate water intake is based on their individual body make-up, environment, and activity level. If you want a starting point, try this calculator. Now I was shocked when I first realized how much water I need to drink, and felt I was going to spend the day in the bathroom if I drank that much daily. I'll be honest, if you are not used to drinking this much water, the first couple weeks are going to be rough, but you will notice some amazing positive outcomes to the way you feel. The last Tip I will leave you with (Tip #3) is try and spice up your water with non-sugar additives. I personally put about half a La Croix drink in my 40 oz. cup of water. Now, unfortunately for me, La Croix did not sponsor this post ( I wish!!), but I have found I will drink a lot more water if the water I drink doesn't actually taste like water. La Croix drinks have no sugar, and no sodium, and are essentially just flavored carbonated water, that tastes amazing.

I leave with you with one last thought. If you prefer other drinks, like coffee, soda, energy drinks, that's totally fine. Just remember that coffee is a dehydrator; so if you're a coffee person, plan to drink two glasses of water for every cup of coffee. Secondly, soda and energy drinks are water based but contain a lot of sugar and sodium that also rob hydration. Let's increase our water intake so we can be equipped to live the life we want to live.