Water intake is key to our survival, but proper hydration can be difficult to achieve on a daily basis for a variety of reasons. In fact, as much as 75% of the US population is chronically dehydrated, and dehydration can cause headaches, fatigue and occasionally more serious conditions like seizures and kidney problems.
When it comes to sufficient water intake, there’s likely a few tired tips you’ve encountered time and time again. You’ve likely seen athletes carrying gallons of water throughout their day, or perhaps you’ve seen those large water water bottles that have measurements to ensure sufficient hydration. Perhaps you yourself have carried around one of these water bottles!
If you’re still struggling to drink enough water on a daily basis, there’s one hack you might not have tried.
The #1 Hack for Hydration? Make It Easy
Whenever you’re establishing better habits — like drinking enough water — studies show there’s one factor that helps more than others: Ease. By making the task easy, you increase your likelihood of completing it more regularly. When a task is more difficult to accomplish, a person is less likely to do it. Experts have a word for this layer of difficulty associated with habit-building; they call this “friction.”
As you’re looking to increase your daily water intake, identify areas of fiction. For example, when you’re sitting at your desk all day and you have to walk to the kitchen to refill your water, that walk to the kitchen creates friction. Or, if you’re in the car all day and you have a water bottle with you that requires opening with two hands while driving, this is friction. Similarly, if you simply don’t like the taste of certain water, this also causes friction.
By eliminating areas of friction, we make an action easier, and when a task is easier, people are more likely to do it regularly, like drinking enough water.
So, how can you eliminate friction when it comes to your hydration habits? Simple: Identify every small barrier you encounter every day in your journey to becoming a more hydrated version of yourself and work to eliminate it.
Taste Is Key
Ultimately, it’s harder to build a healthy habit like proper water hydration if we simply don’t care for the taste of the water we’re drinking. But, by investing in a water filtration system that fits right on your sink faucet, you can ensure you’ll have fresh, clean-tasting water every time.
Hydrating on the Go
Think through even the smallest considerations that may keep you from proper hydration. For example, do you hesitate to throw a water bottle in your gym bag because you’re afraid it will leak on your clothes? Invest in a leak-proof water bottle that screws tight every time.
Or do you find yourself in the car often, struggling to get the cap of a water bottle unscrewed? Maybe Hydroflask’s All Day Bundle featuring a 28 oz All Around Tumbler with a straw and a closeable leakproof lid will make it easier to increase your hydration while driving all day.
Hydrating At Home
When you’re at home, having easy access to drinking water will decrease friction and likely result in increased water intake. By keeping a water pitcher in several locations throughout your home in addition to your kitchen — like in your home office or your bedroom — you’re making it easier for yourself to drink the water your body needs.