Getting Up and Being Alert

Like your body, the brain is composed mostly of water, so it makes sense that drinking water first thing in the morning helps the brain prepare for the day. Ironically, most people rely on coffee to help them wake up, when water is a much better choice for increasing awareness and making decisions. In fact, water can make your brain function 14% faster.

Drink water when you get up and wait about an hour to eat or drink anything else.  Waiting an hour will give your mind enough of a boost to make good decisions about what you eat for breakfast and drink thereafter.

Sleep Repairs, Water Cleanses

Drinking water is essential to life, and like being fit, is part of a lifestyle.  While asleep, the body repairs itself and filters out toxins.  Come morning, these toxins are ready to be flushed from the body—drinking water is an integral part of this process.  Once your system is clean, it is open to absorb the nutrients that power you throughout the day.

Should I Drink Hot or Cold Water?

There is some debate as to whether it’s better to drink hot water or cold water.  Overall, it’s best to drink water at your preferred temperature if it means the difference between drinking water or not.  There is some evidence that shows drinking cold water does ‘burn’ more calories, but the caloric difference is minimal.  

Drinking Water at Once vs. Throughout the Day

To start the day, try drinking a few glasses of water to cleanse your system. After that, drinking water is best when done at an ongoing pace. Don’t try to drink a day’s worth of water in one sitting.

Drinking water regularly is part of a healthy lifestyle.  If you’re feeling thirsty, it’s likely that you’re already 2% dehydrated!  While it’s a small percentage, some trainers suggest that even a 1% dehydration level can drop athletic performance by 10%.

Estimate how many ounces of water to drink by multiplying your bodyweight by 0.55.  So, a person who weighs 140 pounds would need to drink 77 ounces (140 x 0.55 = 77).

Hacking Your Water Intake

Here are five easy ways to ensure you are drinking enough water throughout the day:

1. Buy water in bulk and number your bottles—our subscription service is a great solution!
2. Mark your Hint water bottles with times to drink—or remember how easily the “Hint” logo lines up with four hour increments!
3. Download a water app to help monitor your intake—review our top picks here.
4. Recruit a water buddy and keep each other on track.
5. Drink a fruit-flavored water like Hint for a variety of tastes with maximum health benefits!