How many times has a 44 ounce giant to-go water cup singlehandedly brought you back to life in your local Wawa? Seeking refuge through free, ice-cold water at Wawa is more nourishing than you may expect.
Though college students boast a somewhat balanced daily diet incorporating caffeine and alcohol, reaching for the water bottle rather than the iced coffee is more beneficial than you might think. Your brain and body crave water 24/7. Water makes up about 60% of your body weight and it’s vital to every body system. So, drinking more water throughout the day is more beneficial, in the long run, than that late-night chug.
Researchers recommend that, as college-aged adults, we consume a minimum of about 2.2 to 3 liters of fluids per day. If you’re like me and cannot visualize liters, milliliters, and fluid ounces etc. I have compared it to a familiar vessel: ladies, that’s the equivalent of about 3 standard size wine bottles, and guys, almost a 12 pack of beer.
Here are 6 vital reasons why you should drink more water:
1. Fights Fatigue
The first symptom of dehydration is fatigue. Your blood needs water, and your body needs blood. Not enough blood volume forces your heart to work harder, trying to pump oxygenated blood to your major organs. Just like running a marathon, your body needs little Dixie cups of water to make it to the finish line.
2. Easier Exercise
For me, this is a big one because I will do anything to make those brutal minutes, trying not to fall off the treadmill, seem a little more bearable. As a young adult, exercise is vital in maintaining a healthy mind and body. When properly hydrated, oxygen and nutrients can also be transported to the muscles more efficiently, giving you more energy to optimize your yoke sesh and get swole.
3. Improves Brain Function
A study at the University of East London recently investigated the correlation between thirst and reaction time, suggesting that hydration improves brain function. After subjects drank a glass of water, their reaction time increased by 14%, suggesting that the water helped “free up parts of the brain that was ‘busy’ telling the body that it was thirsty.”
5. Wake Up ***Flawless
I wish I could promise you drinking a bottle of water will give you flawless skin and solve all of your problems, but the reality is, no one is Beyoncé but the Queen Bey herself. But, water can energize your morning. While you’re sleeping, you’re losing water. This is not due to sweating or that dried saliva stain on your cheek (we’ve all had that lovely kind of deep sleep), but an instinctive process: breathing. With each breath, you expel moisture. When you wake up, you are already dehydrated; this is the reason for your dragon breath. Because skin contains about 30% water, increasing water consumption contributes to skin plumpness, elasticity and resiliency.
5. Speeds Up Metabolism
Metabolism- that mysterious word that seems to appear in almost every health or nutrition article. What is it? A religion founded by Metta World Peace? A rare Pokémon? In fact, metabolism is a term that is used to describe “all chemical reactions involved in maintaining the living state of the cells and the organism.”A pretty broad definition for overall body function. Water is involved in essentially every type of cellular process in your body; proper hydration keeps bodily processes, such as your metabolism, running smoothly and efficiently, filtering toxins from your bloodstream.
6. Reduces Headache
Every savvy college student knows that Pedialyte helps fix a hangover, but do you know why? I’m not saying college students act like toddlers, but next time you wake up in a fetal position with a hangover, consider the fact that your mother did know best, as Pedialyte is one of the best rehydration drinks. In a recent study regarding migraine patients and their water intake, subjects who consumed an additional 1.5 liters of water per day, in addition to their normal diet, reported reduction in headache intensity and duration.
Along with these 6 convincing reasons to boost your water intake, think about those times when you didn’t stop for the free water at Wawa after a night out; think of how you felt, and consider guzzling some more water. Your body will probably thank you.