In terms of water, it may possibly really feel like we’ve heard (and tried!) all the pieces. Drink eight glasses a day, eat your water, water alone isn’t sufficient. Whereas the jury remains to be out on a few of these wellness “rules,” we will all agree: staying hydrated ought to be prime of thoughts. However… do you know there are particular factors in the course of the day which can be one of the best time to drink water? Sure, actually.
In actual fact, ingesting water at these occasions may even enhance your total well being and cognitive functioning. When you’re like me, you’re most likely pondering to your self, “Water is water, I need it no matter the time of day!” Whereas that is technically true, analysis exhibits which you could really take up extra of water’s well being advantages and enhance your inside processes by ingesting it at optimum occasions all through the day.
Science exhibits that ingesting water on the right occasions of day may also help forestall frequent issues equivalent to abdomen ache, IBS, bloating, fatigue, overeating, hypertension, constipation, and even coronary heart assault and stroke.
The Greatest Time to Drink Water to Help Optimum Well being
On the flip aspect, there are additionally sure occasions of day when it’s suggested to forego the H2O since our our bodies are busy and want all inside roadways clear to do their work. So, it’s time to maximise water’s effectiveness and reap all of the well being advantages that nature’s long-standing MVP has to supply. Forward, uncover one of the best occasions of day to drink (and to not drink) water.
Editor’s Be aware: The views expressed on this article mirror these of the creator and are supposed to share concepts and spark a dialog that can empower girls to be proactive of their well being. As all the time, relating to issues of well being, we encourage you to do your analysis, do what’s best for you, and discuss together with your physician as a way to create a plan that’s optimum for you.
Do: Drink Proper When You Wake Up
Your first glass of water ought to be proper once you get up. Ingesting water on an empty abdomen within the morning can do wonders for our our bodies, each internally and externally. In actual fact, ingesting two semi-warm glasses of water very first thing within the morning is an historical Japanese each day ritual. The routine has been attributed to the well being, magnificence, and longevity of its individuals. (Hi there #skingoals.)
A glass or two of water very first thing within the AM helps prime your mind and physique for the day. It additionally eliminates any toxins and cussed free radicals which have gathered in your circulatory system in a single day and helps clear and purify your physique’s inside organs. World’s best two-minute detox? Contemplate it achieved.
Professional Tip: For greatest outcomes, attempt to not eat something till 30-40 minutes after ingesting. That is when the physique hydrates and energizes the cells with new oxygen.
Do: Drink Earlier than You Eat
Drink a glass of water half-hour earlier than any meal. It is a key behavior that helps digestion. Not solely does the water put together your intestines for the meals coming down the pike, but it surely additionally prevents you from over-eating for the reason that water strains your abdomen and makes you’re feeling fuller quicker.
In line with Ilana Muhlstein, MS, RDN, who’s a part of the manager management group for the American Coronary heart Affiliation and leads the Bruin Well being Enchancment Program at UCLA, consuming water earlier than a meal can create a way of fullness and cut back your urge for food. She tells The Thirty, “When you take something heavy, like 16 ounces of water, it really adds this weight and heaviness in your stomach, and it completely quiets that sense of urgency because you’re satisfying that hunger hormone. It leads to this sense of calmness and fullness.”
Don’t: Drown Your Abdomen Throughout Mealtime
A typical mistake individuals make (myself included) is gulping down water throughout and instantly after consuming. As a result of we take up water greatest when our stomachs aren’t filled with meals, ingesting heavy quantities of water throughout or immediately after a meal dilutes the pure juices that assist in digestion. It’s advisable to drink one glass of water half-hour earlier than, throughout, and after a meal—however no extra. It will permit your digestive system to do its factor with none moist and wild distractions and can assist your physique take up the vitamins extra effectively.
Ali Miller, RD, CDE integrative dietitian and proprietor of Naturally Nourished, tells Prevention: “Excessive liquids during meals can lead to bloating, indigestion, and even nutrient malabsorption.”
Professional Tip: Stopping for small sips throughout a meal slows down the velocity at which you eat, inflicting you to eat much less total. Consuming at a slower velocity means that you can verify in together with your starvation indicators and normally makes a meal extra pleasurable. And everyone knows having fun with what you eat is an enormous a part of sustaining a balanced food plan and, most significantly, a contented life.
Do: Drink Earlier than (and After) a Exercise
Relying in your physique’s fluid ranges on the time, you might want a number of glasses of water earlier than you hit the gymnasium to guard in opposition to dehydration throughout your exercise. Once we sweat, we lose each water and electrolytes, so it’s vital to drink not less than eight ounces of water beforehand to preemptively change the fluids misplaced via sweat and humidity throughout train.
Don’t: Drink Too A lot Throughout a Exercise
Hold your self hydrated whereas exercising, however keep away from ingesting an excessive amount of. Extra water consumption throughout your exercise will cut back sodium focus in your physique and deplete your pure electrolytes, leading to fatigue or worse.
Only a few small sips (sufficient to coat your mouth and throat) throughout your exercise’s relaxation durations will preserve you hydrated and your vitality ranges secure. You wish to keep away from over-hydrating and diluting your pure vitality. One of the best factor to do? Take heed to your physique.
Do: Drink Earlier than Bedtime
If you’re hydrated earlier than going to mattress and sleeping, you might decrease your threat of coronary heart assault and stroke, as dehydration elevates the danger elements for heart problems. In actual fact, in accordance with a examine within the European Journal of Vitamin, dehydration can impair vascular operate virtually as a lot as smoking a cigarette.
Stavros Kavouras, affiliate professor and coordinator of the Train Science Program on the College of Arkansas, mentions within the examine, “You could be mildly dehydrated without knowing it while you have endothelial impairment similar to smoking a cigarette. The degree of dehydration when these changes occur is at less than two percent dehydration, which is around the threshold when people start feeling thirsty.”
Dehydration may adversely have an effect on your temper, which in flip can throw your total sleep cycle out of whack. And isn’t that motive sufficient to have a glass earlier than mattress?
Professional Tip: Attempt to drink your final glass of water about an hour earlier than mattress if you happen to can. You’ll save your self a middle-of-the-night journey to the toilet!
Do: Drink When You’re Drained
Ingesting a glass of water once you really feel drained will assist energy up your mind. As a result of your mind consists of 75% water, ingesting a glass or two once you’re feeling sleepy will assist replenish very important fluid ranges and enhance cognitive functioning. Drink a glass of water if you happen to’re feeling drained at work or in case you have an enormous presentation developing and must focus. You probably have a hankering for a nap however can’t take one, drink a glass of cool water as an alternative.
Professional Tip: Do you know that fatigue is likely one of the main indicators of dehydration? Due to its capability to maneuver shortly all through the physique and on to the mind, ingesting water can provide the enhance you want earlier than an enormous assembly or once you’re on deadline and didn’t get as a lot shut-eye as you’d desire. Pure caffeine? We’ll take it!
Do: Drink When You’re Sick
Even when optimum well being is the purpose, sickness occurs to everybody. In case your physique is sick with the flu or the same virus, staying hydrated is vital. Sure signs like vomiting and fever can result in dehydration, so that you wish to keep on prime of your water consumption if you happen to’re feeling below the climate. Staying hydrated will assist together with your restoration, and get you again to feeling like your greatest self sooner.
This submit was final up to date on April 14, 2025 to incorporate new insights.
