What is an Easy Way to Encourage Students to Stay Hydrated?
Everyone from your doctor to your best friend has told you about the importance of being hydrated. In theory, you are behind this sentiment 100 percent. You only have one question: How can you get yourself to drink more water when you’re too busy or you don’t enjoy the seemingly boring taste?
Change the Way You Think About Drinking
Look at a half-gallon container of milk, and that’s the minimum amount of water you are supposed to take in on a daily basis for optimal hydration, skin health and brain function. You might be thinking that a bottle of that size often languishes in your fridge for over a week. You can’t picture yourself gulping down a full 64 ounces of anything, let alone water.
Forget about the “all at once” idea” and think instead about sipping. Once you get into the sipping habit, you can drink manageable amounts throughout the day and will barely notice the ounces. Over time, the sipping becomes a habit that you do while focusing on other things. Before you know it, the half-gallon is gone.
Jazz Up Your Water
Many people object to the “nothing” taste of regular water and choose sugary juices or sodas instead. The truth is that it is not an either-or proposition. You can make yummy water for yourself without packing on the calories or tainting it with chemicals. Squeeze a lemon into your water bottle for a brisk and thirst-quenching pick-me-up, or slice up some fruit and add it to make strawberry, blueberry or watermelon flavored water. If the fruit of your choice is not in season, purchase the frozen variety and use chunks just as you would ice cubes.
Make it Fun!
No doubt, you have friends who also want to be better about their water intake. Use technology such as smartphone apps and social media to share your progress and even to remind you to keep drinking. When you or your buddies succeed, reward each other with positive affirmations and likes. On days when you don’t do as well as you would like, provide encouragement to each other.
Spike Your Intake at Certain Times
New habits are hard to initiate. However, once they are established, they are like autopilot programs that operate on cruise control. One great hydration habit is to get yourself to have a glass of water before each meal and another after every bathroom break.
Determine Your Optimal Temperature
Some folks love their drinks to be ice cold while others favor room temperature. If you don’t know which of these camps you fall into, try both. Then enjoy your water, naturally flavored or not, according to your thermal preferences.
The benefits of drinking more water are numerous: supple skin, strengthened immune system, more efficient digestion, enhanced ability to concentrate and even weight loss. Most likely, your entire body is probably crying out for hydration at this very moment. Start drinking more water today!