It may come as no surprise that drinking water isn’t just a boring thing your doctor tells you to do; in reality, drinking water to stay properly hydrated has a huge range of health benefits. Water is essential for all life forms, from animals to plants to humans, and it’s crucial to understand why staying hydrated in your daily life is vital.
Understanding the Importance of Water in the Body
Water Composition and Its Significance
Water is an essential molecule to understand because it has a hugely significant bearing on the human body and the concept of life as a whole. Unlike complicated molecules, water (or H2O) is a simple molecule made from two hydrogen atoms (H2) and one oxygen atom (O). These atoms are held together in a covalent bond.
The simplistic structure is also known as a polar molecule, with a negative charge on the oxygen atom, but positive charges on the hydrogen atoms. While this is very scientific, understanding this polar charge is essential to understanding the function of H2O; the polarity of these atoms allows water molecules to form (hydrogen) bonds with other polar molecules. This allows water to interact with many different molecules or ions, making it versatile.
As such, H2O becomes essential for life—from plants to animals to humans, we all need water to survive.
Functions of Water in Bodily Processes
When it comes to bodily processes, water has many roles to play. Crucially, H2O regulates the body’s temperature, can lubricate joints and tissues, aids digestion, helps nutrient absorption, transports nutrients and oxygen to the cells, assists with waste removal, and maintains blood pressure.
Water is hugely important in the body’s ability to function; that’s why you can get headaches or feel sluggish when dehydrated. The importance of water cannot be underestimated. While humans can go without food for many days or months, we cannot survive without H2O for more than 5 days.
That said, it’s important to know the quality of the H2O you’re drinking. Unfiltered tap water can contain contaminants that can cause harm, such as heavy metals. Consider installing a filtration system to ensure you’re getting the cleanest water possible.
10 Key Health Benefits of Drinking Water
Joint Health and Mobility
Healthy joints need lubrication. After all, they constantly move and need some cushioned cartilage to help them. That’s where water comes into play. Proper hydration maintains healthy joints by lubricating them. Synovial fluids, which are the lubricating joint fluid, must be sufficient to reduce friction. In doing so, there’s less wear and tear on the joints themselves.
The more sufficient the lubrication, the more mobile you can be due to the joints maintaining healthy rather than frictional movement. So, H2O is crucial for building good movement and flexibility. Also, without water, healthy nutrients that need to be delivered to the joint wouldn’t be possible, so as well as promoting good lubrication, H2O is also necessary to keep the joints nutritionally healthy.
Cognitive Function
Water is crucial for your brain and its cognitive functions, which is unsurprising considering your brain is primarily made up of H2O. So if you significantly reduce your intake, your cognitive functions will start to decrease. From memory loss to struggling to concentrate, dehydration’s effects on cognitive functions will likely differ from person to person.
It’s easy to forget that your brain is the organiser of your entire body. While your heart keeps you alive, pumping blood through your body, your brain gets you from A to B and allows you to accomplish tasks and make decisions. H2O is crucial for electrical signal transmission between neurons; otherwise, your brain cannot process information.
Energy Levels
You might find that you feel sluggish first thing in the morning and it’s hard to get out of bed, which could be due to dehydration. You can often tell how hydrated you are based on the strength of the colour of your urine. Light yellow means you’re hydrated, but the darker the yellow, the more dehydrated you are.
Overnight, dehydration can occur simply because you didn’t drink enough water the day before, or not drinking for 7-10 hours makes you more dehydrated. Regardless, after drinking H2O, you’ll likely find that your energy levels increase and the sluggishness fades away.
Stimulates Metabolism
Countless online articles claim “water will help you lose weight”. However, be dubious about these claims. Often, these articles refer to how water can temporarily increase your metabolism. The higher your metabolism, the quicker your body can “burn” through calories, which can aid weight loss. Water can trigger thermogenesis (heat production) and increase your metabolic rate, particularly when chilled.
Aids Digestion
Digestion is a vital process in the body. Without H2O, it becomes more difficult and can result in constipation and other digestive issues. Water helps break down the food consumed so the body can absorb the necessary nutrients. If you are dehydrated, this process isn’t completed properly and can lead to constipation.
It’s also vital to ensure that you aid digestion by only drinking good-quality water. Chemicals or heavy metals can negatively impact the body, so optimal water purity is key to proper hydration.
Prevents Headaches
Another symptom of dehydration is headaches, or more severely, migraines. Your brain, made up of water, shrinks when dehydrated. The headache you experience occurs because the pressure of the brain shrinking and pulling away from the skull puts pressure on your nerves. Further pain might occur because less H2O means less oxygen, which is transported to your brain in your blood cells, which can also result in pain. So, if you are properly hydrated, you’ll avoid headaches.
Delivers Oxygen
H2O acts as a vessel for oxygen transportation. While its relationship with oxygen differs in the body compared to directly releasing oxygen in aquatic environments, it does deliver oxygen to your body’s cells. Without which, the body wouldn’t be able to work effectively.
Enhances Skin
Proper hydration can also benefit your skin and appearance. While every person’s skin is different, H2O can help reduce puffiness, prevent acne, and even slow signs of aging. This is because proper hydration in your skin provides better moisture to your cells and gives it that healthy glow.
Regulates Body Temperature
Body temperature regulation is crucial and needs adequate hydration to be maintained. When the body is overheating, it’s likely to sweat (primarily H2O) because it allows the body to cool through evaporation. But in order to sweat enough without suffering dehydration, you need to be sufficiently hydrated to begin with so that the body can release the sweat it needs.
That’s why public services or spaces like gyms or schools must have a sufficient, good-quality H2O supply. This can be obtained through excellent-quality water filtration systems, such as the ones supplied by Woder. Whether your area has a high amount of hard water or you simply need a good filtration system, Woder has a range of ways to help.
Exercise-Based Performance
H2O is vital for exercise, not just because you’ll lose water through sweating. Without water, you cannot perform to the best of your ability; H2O is crucial for body temperature regulation, joint lubrication, muscle function, and preventing dizziness or fatigue. Moreover, your muscles need nutrients and oxygen to work effectively, and proper hydration means more oxygen gets to your muscles, resulting in better exercise-based performance.
Daily Water Intake Guidelines
Everyone is unique, with different bodies and different levels of physical activity. So, the amount of water that one requires per day will vary. Men should drink 15.5 cups, and women should drink 11.5 cups (including H2O sources from foods). That’s 4-6 cups of pure water a day.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Water Should You Drink in a Day?
Everybody is different, so your H2O intake will vary depending on your sex, age, weight, height, physical activity, and health. However, on average, healthy individuals need 4 to 6 cups of water daily.
What Happens When You Start Drinking More Water?
Drinking more water can have many health benefits, from better joint mobility to glowing skin. However, every individual is different, and the benefits you’ll see from drinking more H2O will also depend on whether you’re getting all the good minerals and fewer nasties. The best way to access quality H2O is with a water filter.
Is It Better to Drink Water in the Morning Than Throughout the Day?
There’s no better or worse time of day to drink water. It’s important to stay hydrated throughout the day. However, when you wake up, drinking a glass of water is best practice to hydrate yourself and prepare for the day.
Water Supports Overall Health Through Daily Hydration
Water has many health benefits, but these aren’t just nice additions. Water is essential to your body’s functions. Without drinking H2O, you risk dehydration and all the adverse side effects, from headaches to poor muscle endurance to lack of joint mobility (to name a few). That’s why getting all the benefits of clean, mineral water today with proper filtration is crucial. Why not contact Woder today to get a quote for water filters and start your journey to better hydration?
