Let’s begin looking at the why, and we can arrive at the how. Why is it so important to get this one thing right? If we care about our health, why do we need to care about optimum hydration the most?

The answer is simple. Water is essential for life, and optimum hydration is crucial for health. All vital organs in our body are 70 – 80% water. Consider, for instance, the Brain. It is composed of 73% water. So wouldn’t it be imperative to make sure the body is well hydrated to achieve optimal brain function? The same is true for other organs like your heart, kidneys, lungs, etc.

Most of us know that dehydration can cause symptoms like headache, dry mouth, eyes, lips, and irritability. What is often difficult to put into perspective is the effects of long-term underhydration. It is essentially a setup for all organs of the body to struggle and underperform consistently. Sounds scary? Worry not, take a sip, and read on.

Taking a closer look at H2O’s various roles and functions in the human body will shine some light on why we can’t take this lightly –

• Water delivers nutrients to all cells in the body.
• Water delivers oxygen to the brain and helps in cognitive function.
• Water aids with digestion
• Water lubricates the joints
• Water helps with flushing out toxins.
• And many more key processes in the body.

So it’s only a natural consequence that lack of optimal hydration has a significant role in the onset of many chronic health issues like high blood pressure, fatigue, skin disorders, digestive disorders, bladder or kidney problems, high cholesterol, and weight gain.

The best part is, that just optimizing this one area of wellness and doing it right consistently day after day can have a profound positive impact on your health and longevity.

So how do we do it? How to make it so failproof that it almost seems second nature. How do we get to a point, where regardless of how busy or easy your day is, you never forget to hydrate optimally?

For most people, the two most common hindrances are –

1. We are too busy and forget to track our water intake.
2. Water just doesn’t taste good

I’ll cut straight to the chase. To solve the first problem, filling up large water bottles in the morning to target your daily water intake is a game-changer.

For a very long time, I had a small 24 oz (seems small now 🙂 ) water bottle. I planned to get up and refill after I run out and in the process gain some steps. If I was being very diligent, I would be able to hit the goal intake, few times a week, but miss it at-least 2-3 days. Not good at all.

Although I always understood and appreciated the key role of hydration in maintaining top physical and mental health, ensuring optimum water intake for myself was a challenge. I had to find a way to make it easy for myself. Then came along these huge bottles and completely solved that problem for me.

There are plenty of options in the market when looking for 64 oz bottles. Linked below are my favorites –

• Reduce growler 64 oz is my top favorite!
• Iron Flask has a great design and it comes with 3 different types of lids.
• Buzio is another good one with 3 different types of lids.
• SENDESTAR comes with 2 types of lids and a carry bag that’s pretty handy.
• Coldest is a great product, and I especially love the strong handle it comes with.

The second problem is the taste problem! Some creativity comes in handy here. Try adding flavor enhancers like lemon, mint, cucumbers, strawberries, flowers, herbs, etc. Whatever appeals to your taste buds and is available fresh at hand will mitigate this problem largely. Even for the folks who don’t particularly dislike the taste of water, adding flavors is a nice change sometimes.

To make this fun, there are plenty of infusion water bottles on the market. Check these out –

• Stainless steel Infusion Pro Bottle
• Hydracy Fruit Infuser water bottle

I can not overemphasize that optimum hydration is pivotal for kids as well. Since the impact of proper hydration is high on the brain, this becomes all-important in their learning and formative years.

PRO TIPS

• Invest in reusable Water bottles. They make excellent gifts for family and friends and self!
• Consider looking into the different types of water bottles best suited for various activities in your life. For example, if you are out walking or running, something handheld like the Nathan SpeedDraw. Cola-shaped flasks to always keep in your handbag like this one – Mira Flask.
• If you need motivation, check out clean flavor enhancers like True Lemon.

I will leave you with a quote here from the noted poet W.H. Auden – “Thousands have lived without love, not one without water”.