The hotter it gets, the more we’re at risk of dehydration. In this article, we’ll explain why it’s so important to drink a bit more water during hot weather, and how easy it is to stay healthily hydrated.
Whenever we’re in a hot environment, whether that’s sitting in the sun or in a sauna, our body’s miraculous response is to automatically lower our temperature. That’s because our bodies work best at their normal temperature - around 36°C to 37°C. A body temperature of 38°C or above means we’re suffering a fever.
Why do we sweat when it’s hot?
How does the human body magically lower its temperature? It sweats. Our sweat is just salty water that we release when hot, stressed or fighting an infection. These conditions trigger our very sensitive sweat glands. When we perspire, this salty water evaporates off our skin and draws heat away from our body, allowing it to cool.
So when we sweat, we lose lots of water and electrolytes. 60% of the average adult’s body is water. An average child’s body may be up to 70% water. This is our natural water balance, which we need to maintain to keep our bodies functioning properly.
What’s the best way to replace lost body water?
When we lose water, the single best replacement for it is - guess what? Water. What’s the best way to replace lost water? Drink it. Therefore, if we’re losing more water than normal (maybe because it’s finally that super hot summer we’ve been wishing for) then it’s pure logic that we should drink more water than normal.
Water with plenty of naturally occurring electrolytes is best to drink, as this replenishes the essential minerals we’ve lost through sweating. Clean, healthy mineral water should contain sodium, magnesium, potassium and calcium. The beauty of Our Taap is that it filters your mains water - leaving in all those essential electrolytes, but removing all the contaminants you don’t want to drink. It’s like having an unlimited supply of great tasting, instantly chilled mineral water - at the push of a button.
Why is it important to stay hydrated?
We need to maintain our natural water balance to function properly and stay fit and healthy. Losing just 1% of your body’s water counts as dehydration - and feeling thirsty is your natural warning sign. A water loss of up to 2% classifies as mild dehydration; this can affect your concentration, attention span, memory, and reaction time. If you lose 3 or 4% of your body’s water, you’re going to suffer fatigue and dizziness. If you lose any more water, you may need medical help. There are many side effects of dehydration, all of which are easily avoided if you simply top up any water that you lose through sweating.
Nothing beats the sheer convenience of having a smart water dispenser to hand that not only purifies your mains water on demand, but also keeps it chilled at whatever temperature you choose. This means you can do away with having to buy bottled water and store it in the fridge. 90% of Our Taap customers say they drink more water since they had their system installed. This is one of the many reasons a home water dispenser is such a kitchen must-have.
Top ways to stay healthily hydrated
We’ve covered the main, and best, way to keep your body water balanced, but there’s more than one way to stay healthily hydrated:
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again (and again) - drink plenty of pure water. Still haven’t got the habit? Here are eight easy ways to up your drinking game.
Stick to drinks that help keep you healthily hydrated (such as milk, juice, sports drinks, coconut water, herbal tea), and avoid the ones which might dehydrate you (soft drinks, coffee, alcohol, energy drinks, flavoured milk, smoothies). You can read more about all the best and worst drinks for hydration here.
Eat foods that have a high water content. Yes, you can hydrate through eating. Cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce are among the most water-rich fruit and vegetables. Want to know more? Here are the top 20 best foods for staying hydrated. Sorry, but cake and biscuits don’t make the list.
Cut down on salt. Consuming lots of salt upsets our body’s natural sodium balance. Too much of every chef’s favourite dash and sprinkle, and our bodies flush it out in our pee. Free salty bar snacks? Yup, they’re there because they make you thirsty.
Cut down on spice. Eating super spicy food can raise our body temperature. And what happens when our bodies get too hot? They respond the only way they know how - by sweating. As we talked about above, sweating can lead to dehydration.
Still not convinced about how beneficial a drink of water can be? Staying hydrated can reap some long-term health benefits. And here are 10 more great reasons you should drink more water.
So, if we've tempted you to boost your hydration game, why not join the 90% of people who say they drink more water with Our Taap?
Once you add the Smart Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add the Smart Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add the Smart Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add the Smart Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a new subscription package to your basket, we will apply the first month free discount, which will be visible in your cart. So don’t worry if you don’t see it right away.
