I’ve just come back from five days holiday up in Cobram, central Victoria, and although we’ve only just hit Spring, there have been a couple of very warm days already.  I therefore thought it was timely to talk about how important your water intake is to your health.

Watch out for signs of dehydration!

These are some of the signs that indicate that you may be dehydrated:

  • Headache
  • Dizziness or sudden feeling of faintness
  • Weakness or cramps in the arms or legs
  • Irritability which is uncharacteristic crankiness
  • Fatigue
  • Nausea
  • Thirst – if you’re feeling thirsty, then you’re already dehydrated

You should drink at least 2 to 3 litres of water per day, and even more on hot days or when you are participating in extended periods of strenous exercise.

Replacing lost electrolytes via drinks such as sports energy drinks can also help prevent cramps when exercising for extended durations.   However, you should not over do the electrolyte drinks.  As a general guide, yYou should drink no more than 600ml of electrolyte drink to every 2 litres of water.

How do you get 2 to 3 litres of water into your daily routine?  Well, here’s a number of sure fire tips that really do work:

  • Always keep a full drink bottle of water in your car so that you can increase your water intake whenever you’re in the car
  • Keep a drink bottle on your desk at work and make sure you take a sip every 15 minutes or so
  • If you have a busy schedule and work in an office, always take your drink bottle to meetings, etc
  • If you work outdoors, then always make sure you have your drink bottle close by
  • Keep your drink bottle somewhere that you can see.  You know what they say, “out of sight, out of mind!”
  • Be conscious of increasing your water intake or making sure you get sufficient water into your daily routine.