Hacks for Staying Hydrated All of 2024

The start of the new year is a perfect time to improve your habits, especially ones related to your health. Drinking more water to stay hydrated is one of the most significant yet small changes you can make to help your body and brain function optimally. While there’s no one-size-fits-all rule for how much water you should drink each day, health professionals recommend drinking eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. That’s a lot of water — and it can be hard to stay on top of it.

In this post, we’ll share our top hacks for staying hydrated in 2024. These include tips to help you remember to drink water throughout the day, delicious recipes to make hydration more enjoyable, and even tips on how to choose the right water bottle for you. Keeping your hydration levels up throughout the year will pay off in the long run, so let’s dive in!

Strategies To Increase Your Water Intake in 2024

The recommended daily intake of water for adults is 6-8 cups, but this number should be adjusted depending on activity levels, climate, and other factors. Here are some of our top tips to successfully increase your water intake this year:

Start Your Day With Water

Start each day by drinking a full glass of water upon waking up. This easy habit can help kick-start the rest of your water consumption for the day. Plus, it will make waking up in the morning and tackling your day much easier.

Track Your Water Intake

One way to increase your water intake is to keep track of how much you drink each day. You can do this easily by writing down your intake in a notebook, using a large bottle with measurements, or using an app on your phone that tracks it for you.

Set Reminders

Another way to ensure that you are drinking enough water each day is to set reminders on your phone or computer throughout the day to remind you to drink a glass of water. You may want to stagger these to go off every hour or every two hours, depending on how much water you need to stay hydrated.

Flavor Your Water

If you find yourself struggling to drink large amounts of plain water, try adding natural flavors like sliced citrus fruits, berries, cucumber slices, or herbs like mint, rosemary, and basil to your water. You can either add your ingredients directly to your bottle or use a water infuser. Experiment with flavoring combinations that suit your taste.

Choose Other Sources of Hydration

A great way to get extra hydration is through water-rich foods. These include fruits and vegetables with high water content, such as strawberries, grapefruit, oranges, watermelon, celery, and cucumbers. These foods can help supplement your daily water intake while also providing essential vitamins and minerals.

Tips for Staying Hydrated When Traveling

Traveling can disrupt your usual routine and make it difficult to drink enough water throughout the day. Here are some tips for staying hydrated when traveling this year:

Pack a Water Bottle

Bringing an empty reusable water bottle with you when traveling is an easy way to ensure convenient access to water through drinking fountains during the day. Plus, this will save you money since you won’t have to buy single-use disposable plastic bottles each time you need more water.

Hydrating Before and During Your Flight

Staying hydrated can be a concern when flying due to low air humidity levels in aircraft cabins, which can dry out mucous membranes and lead to dehydration. Before flying, it’s recommended that you pre-hydrate by drinking one to two glasses of water before boarding your flight. While on the plane, you should continue drinking water until after landing at your destination airport.

Avoid Excessive Alcohol

While on vacation it can be tempting to indulge in drinking lots of alcohol, which makes it even more important that you make sure you are drinking adequate amounts of water. Achieving the right balance here will help you stay properly hydrated throughout your trip.

Choose Restaurants Carefully

Eating out often means eating foods higher in sodium, which means you’ll need to be thoughtful about drinking more water. Increased salt intake, along with opting for beverages like beer and wine while dining out, can increase the chances of dehydration. Choosing restaurants carefully and opting for dishes that are lower in sodium or drinking plenty of extra water will help support better hydration levels while traveling.

Staying Hydrated During Exercise

It’s especially important for athletes and anyone who regularly engages in physical activity to stay hydrated. Since exercise has a diuretic effect on the body, encouraging the body’s release of fluids through sweat, you can lose a significant amount of fluids during workouts. Replacing it appropriately and consistently through thoughtful hydration is essential to achieving better fitness results, supporting recovery, and staying healthy.

Pre-Exercise Hydration

Hydrating before working out is essential so that you can start your workout session strong and hopefully avoid becoming dehydrated while exercising. Since dehydration can lead to fatigue and loss of concentration, it’s extra important to drink plenty of water beforehand to help ensure you have a great and safe workout.

Drink Fluids During Exercise

During exercise, it’s recommended to consume 6-12 ounces of water every 15-20 minutes. This exact amount might vary slightly depending on temperature and humidity conditions as well as individual sweat rate and fitness level. Consuming electrolyte drinks or diluted sports drinks may also be appropriate for longer workouts over an hour or exercise done in hot and humid conditions. In these situations, electrolyte replacement becomes necessary along with fluid replacement since electrolytes are also lost through sweat.

It’s just as important (if not more important!) to replace lost fluids from exercise sessions afterward by drinking plenty of water within 30 minutes of finishing. Doing so during the cooldown period can help prevent muscle soreness and cramping while boosting recovery for optimal performance in future workouts!

Other Ways Stay Hydrated

Getting enough fluids isn’t solely about drinking water—there are other ways to supplement your daily fluid intake and stay hydrated all year long.

Make Beverages Count

Drinking other beverages besides water also counts toward daily fluid intake totals while even providing additional nutrients and vitamins, depending on what you’re drinking. Herbal teas, unsweetened juices, and fresh fruit smoothies are generally healthier than drinks containing added sugars or artificial sweeteners. These sweetened drinks may cause unwanted effects like stomach discomfort over prolonged periods.

Rethink Caffeine Intake

Caffeinated beverages naturally have diuretic qualities, meaning they encourage increased fluid loss, eventually leading to dehydration if not consumed alongside extra fluids. Maintaining moderate to low caffeine levels by avoiding excessive caffeine intake (over 300 mg/day) will help prevent dehydration.

Cut Back on Salt Intake

A diet high in salt, or sodium, encourages the depletion of fluids, requiring you to either reduce your salt intake or increase your fluid intake to stay hydrated. It’s good to be cautious about food choices and stick mainly to unprocessed foods or avoid high-sodium foods when possible.

The Final Splash

Staying hydrated is a vital part of your overall health and well-being. In this post, we covered many simple tips and tricks to help you stay hydrated, such as starting your day with a glass of water and tracking your water intake. Of course, it’s important to get plenty of fluids while you travel and exercise, too. With a little extra effort and discipline to implement some of these ideas into your daily life, you can ensure that you stay hydrated in 2024!