Relating to water, it may really feel like we’ve heard (and tried!) every part. Drink eight glasses a day, eat your water, water alone isn’t enough. Whereas the jury continues to be out on a few of these wellness “guidelines,” we will all agree: staying hydrated ought to be prime of thoughts. However… do you know there are particular factors throughout the day which are the very best time to drink water? Yes, really.
In truth, consuming water at these occasions may even boost your overall health and cognitive functioning. Should you’re like me, you’re most likely pondering to your self, “Water is water, I want it regardless of the time of day!” Whereas that is technically true, analysis reveals that you may really soak up extra of water’s well being advantages and enhance your inner processes by consuming it at optimum occasions all through the day.
Science shows that consuming water on the right occasions of day can assist stop frequent issues reminiscent of abdomen ache, IBS, bloating, fatigue, overeating, hypertension, constipation, and even coronary heart assault and stroke.
The Greatest Time to Drink Water to Assist Optimum Well being
On the flip facet, there are additionally sure occasions of day when it’s suggested to forego the H2O since our our bodies are busy and want all inner roadways clear to do their work. So, it’s time to maximise water’s effectiveness and reap all the health benefits that nature’s long-standing MVP has to supply. Forward, uncover the very best occasions of day to drink (and to not drink) water.
Editor’s Observe: The views expressed on this article mirror these of the writer and are supposed to share concepts and spark a dialog that may empower ladies 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 speak together with your physician so that you could create a plan that’s optimum for you.
Do: Drink Proper When You Wake Up
Your first glass of water ought to be proper while you get up. Consuming water on an empty abdomen within the morning can do wonders for our our bodies, each internally and externally. In truth, consuming two semi-warm glasses of water very first thing within the morning is an ancient Japanese daily ritual. The routine has been attributed to the well being, magnificence, and longevity of its folks. (Hi there #skingoals.)
A glass or two of water 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 amassed in your circulatory system in a single day and helps clear and purify your physique’s inner organs. World’s best two-minute detox? Contemplate it performed.
Professional Tip: For finest outcomes, strive to not eat something till 30-40 minutes after consuming. That is when the physique hydrates and energizes the cells with new oxygen.
Do: Drink Earlier than You Eat
Drink a glass of water 30 minutes earlier than any meal. This can be 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 because the water strains your abdomen and makes you feel fuller sooner.
In accordance with Ilana Muhlstein, MS, RDN, who’s a part of the manager management workforce for the American Heart Association and leads the Bruin Well being Enchancment Program at UCLA, consuming water earlier than a meal can create a way of fullness and scale back your urge for food. She tells The Thirty, “While you take one thing heavy, like 16 ounces of water, it actually provides this weight and heaviness in your abdomen, and it utterly quiets that sense of urgency since you’re satisfying that starvation hormone. It results in this sense of calmness and fullness.”
Don’t: Drown Your Abdomen Throughout Mealtime
A standard mistake folks make (myself included) is gulping down water throughout and instantly after consuming. As a result of we soak up water finest when our stomachs aren’t filled with meals, consuming heavy quantities of water throughout or instantly after a meal dilutes the pure juices that assist in digestion. It’s really useful to drink one glass of water half-hour earlier than, throughout, and after a meal—however no extra. This may enable your digestive system to do its factor with none moist and wild distractions and can assist your physique soak up the vitamins extra effectively.
Ali Miller, RD, CDE integrative dietitian and proprietor of Naturally Nourished, tells Prevention: “Extreme liquids throughout meals can result in bloating, indigestion, and even nutrient malabsorption.”
Professional Tip: Stopping for small sips throughout a meal slows down the velocity at which you eat, causing you to eat less overall. Consuming at a slower velocity permits you to verify in together with your starvation alerts and often makes a meal extra satisfying. And everyone knows having fun with what you eat is an enormous a part of sustaining a balanced eating regimen 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 could want a number of glasses of water earlier than you hit the gymnasium to guard towards dehydration throughout your exercise. Once we sweat, we lose each water and electrolytes, so it’s necessary to drink at the least eight ounces of water beforehand to preemptively exchange the fluids misplaced by sweat and humidity throughout train.
Professional Tip: Following vigorous train, you could have to drink a number of ounces of water to replenish very important fluids misplaced all through your exercise. The quantity you’ll want is determined by your weight, well being, and whether or not you exercised in sizzling or humid circumstances—particularly for lengthy intervals—amongst different elements.
Don’t: Drink Too A lot Throughout a Exercise
Hold your self hydrated whereas exercising, however avoid consuming an excessive amount of. Excess water consumption throughout your exercise will scale 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 intervals will preserve you hydrated and your vitality ranges secure. You need to keep away from over-hydrating and diluting your pure vitality. The very best factor to do? Take heed to your physique.
Do: Drink Earlier than Bedtime
In case you are hydrated earlier than going to mattress and sleeping, you could decrease your danger of coronary heart assault and stroke, as dehydration elevates the danger elements for heart problems. In truth, in line with a research within the European Journal of Diet, dehydration can impair vascular perform virtually as a lot as smoking a cigarette.
Stavros Kavouras, affiliate professor and coordinator of the Train Science Program on the University of Arkansas, mentions within the study, “You possibly can be mildly dehydrated with out understanding it when you have endothelial impairment just like smoking a cigarette. The diploma of dehydration when these adjustments happen is at lower than two p.c dehydration, which is across the threshold when folks begin feeling thirsty.”
Dehydration may adversely affect your mood, which in flip can throw your general sleep cycle out of whack. And isn’t that purpose sufficient to have a glass earlier than mattress?
Professional Tip: Attempt to drink your final glass of water about an hour earlier than mattress in case you can. You’ll save your self a middle-of-the-night journey to the lavatory!
Do: Drink When You’re Drained
Consuming a glass of water while you really feel drained will assist power up your brain. As a result of your mind consists of 75% water, consuming a glass or two while you’re feeling sleepy will assist replenish very important fluid ranges and improve cognitive functioning. Drink a glass of water in case you’re feeling drained at work or in case you have an enormous presentation developing and have to focus. In case you have a hankering for a nap however can’t take one, drink a glass of cool water as a substitute.
Professional Tip: Do you know that fatigue is likely one of the main indicators of dehydration? Due to its skill to maneuver shortly all through the physique and on to the mind, consuming water can provide the increase you want earlier than an enormous assembly or while 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 objective, sickness occurs to everybody. In case your physique is sick with the flu or the same virus, staying hydrated is key. Sure signs like vomiting and fever can result in dehydration, so that you need to keep on prime of your water consumption in case you’re feeling below the climate. Staying hydrated will assist together with your restoration, and get you again to feeling like your finest self sooner.
This put up was final up to date on April 14, 2025 to incorporate new insights.
