How Favourite Mugs or Cups Can Increase Hydration for Older Adults

It’s important to drink enough fluids for more reasons than you might realize, especially for older adults as they are more susceptible to dehydration. Water is needed for many things in your body, including digesting food, controlling body temperature, and healing wounds. When you don’t drink enough water, it can cause you to feel weak, tired, dizzy, constipated, confused, and cranky

To help older adults avoid dehydration, Heather Keller (Schlegel Research Chair in Nutrition and Aging) and her Nutrition and Aging Lab at the 加拿大滑铁卢大学 have been exploring solutions to avoid dehydration. Some successful methods include carrying a water bottle, offering preferred cups and drinks, learning thirst signals to know when you’re thirsty, planning for washroom access, eating foods with high fluid content, drinking with others, drinking in between meals, and making fluid intake a part of your daily routine.

The Importance of Mug and Cup Choices

Starting the day with a mug of coffee is second nature to many. You may have a favourite mug because it’s sentimental, or you like how it looks or feels. If it was replaced with a mug of a different texture, size, weight, handle and design, it would probably feel off.

Cups and mugs hold more importance than routine – they may influence how well hydrated older adults are. A study led by Keller , and Minn Yoon, Associate Professor at the 加拿大阿尔伯塔大学 explored this topic.

“Older adults living in retirement and long-term care homes are often at risk of dehydration, largely because they don’t drink enough,” explained Keller. “In order to encourage fluid intake, it is important to ensure that the cups and mugs used are large enough to hold sufficient fluid, while also being easy to use and drink from.”

The study examined different types of drinking glasses and mugs older adults in residential care prefer, including factors like the size of the cup, the material, and the weight.?

?“There are many drinking vessels available targeting seniors’ care; however, none have been tested adequately to determine the preference of residents,” said Keller.

The 37 participants in Alberta and Ontario (residents living in retirement and long-term care homes) were asked to observe, handle and drink from different glasses and mugs, including vessels regularly used in the home as well as new vessels brought in for the trial. They provided feedback on the ease of handling and drinking from each vessel, as well as the feel and appearance.? The research team found that residents are concerned about the look and feel of drinking glasses and mugs, as well as how they will work in the home. For example, are the vessels stackable, can they be adequately sanitized, and are they breakable??

Other Ways to Improve Hydration

To determine how much water you need, Keller suggests thinking about your body size, how active you are, the temperature outside, and the food you’ve eaten. Interestingly, 20-40 per cent of the water we get comes from the food we eat. As a general rule, at least six to eight cups of fluid per day is recommended.

As you get older, you may find that you don’t feel as thirsty as you used to. However, monitoring how often you need the bathroom and how much you are urinating can help you figure out how hydrated you are, to ultimately improve your overall health.

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