Drink more water, or you may die.

Okay, dramatic headline I know. And the chances are you aren't in any immediate danger of dying due to lack of hydration, but it is possible in severe cases.

Now, before the start of each 1-2-1 session, I will always go through a checklist with each client which looks/sounds like this.

• How are you feeling 1-10? (so I know what level of energy and therefore performance to expect).
• How has sleep been? (if their sleep sucked but they said they’re at a 10… they’re probably not, so alter expectations accordingly).
• What's food intake been like today? (food is fuel… if they haven’t eaten enough/or the right quantities of the right nutrients, they won’t perform as well).
• and arguably most importantly… Hydration (how much water have they drunk over the course of the previous 3 days).

A simple snapshot on the importance of hydration for you… it is said that we can go without food for up to 21 days and still stay alive. Water on the other hand it is said to be 3-4 days.

Now I’m not sure how or where they came up with these statistics… because quite frankly who is going to take part in this kind of study? Still, it gives us a pretty good idea of how truly important water is to us staying alive!

Up to 60% of us at any one time is water (which is also why tracking your weight is NOT a measure of progress… being 1 or 2% out can cause a big fluctuation in weight… but that’s another article, another day)… so it makes sense to remain adequately hydrated each day!

Now across the board, for all health categories we pretty much only have the government guidelines to go by… 

• exercise for 30 mins per day
• 10000 steps
• 5 pieces of fruit and veg
• 2000kcal for men/1500kcal for women, and the old; 
• drink 1.5-2 litres per day of water!

These statistics are pretty much born out of government targets. Government targets which are designed to keep bums out of hospital beds! NOT for optimal health!

Underhydration (dehydration) even by just a small amount can lead to; decreased brain function, headaches, lethargy, constipation, dizziness, lack of energy in your muscles, damaged skin, slower digestion, death (there are more, but you get the picture).

It’s extremely damaging for the human body to be even slightly dehydrated. Yet it’s very VERY difficult for us to over hydrate (because we would just pee a lot and sweat a bit more).

So, my recommendation, which I use for all of my team members, is let’s shoot for 3-4 litres per day… because even if, worst case scenario, you hit just 50% of your target… you’re still smashing through the government safety line for maintaining general “health”.

Best case scenario, you hit 4 litres, perform like a champ and just pee a lot!

I’m yet to hear a genuine valid reason as to why someone hasn’t hit their 3-4 litre target a day. Keeping a water bottle by you and taking regular sips is a very easy procedure to execute, which is all too often ghosted past by the average person! 

Buy a 2 litre bottle, put it on your desk right next to your computer screen and every time you look at it, take a sip!

Perform better, feel better and improve your overall health by taking a few extra sips each day.

Yours in health

Ben

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