According to NHS guidance, we should be drinking between six and eight cups of water each day, but if we are honest, very few of us ever really achieve this. Often, this is because we forget to drink, and this becomes even worse when we are at work and find ourselves engrossed in a task.
We can fall into the trap of thinking that it is not important, but work is the place where we need to make sure that our water intake is high enough.
In this article, we take a look at the signs that you are not drinking enough while you are at work and the benefits of making sure that you keep up good levels of hydration.
Headaches at work
We can often write off headaches that we experience at work as being caused by many other things, but it can actually be down to how much water we are drinking. Mild dehydration can bring on a headache as the body has been gradually losing not only fluids but electrolytes as well. The occurrence of headaches is usually a sign that you need to increase your water intake at work in order to make it through the day more comfortably.
Stress levels
It is only natural that we will go through periods of stress when we are working thanks to demanding jobs, tight deadlines, and difficult customers, but it can also be another sign of dehydration.
This is because dehydration can cause the body to release a stress hormone called cortisone, which will lead to a rise in your stress levels and add to your problems.
It also means that the blood vessels in the body become constricted, which further adds to your stress levels. Drinking water can be a great way to help manage your stress levels and is a solution that is relatively easy and cheap to achieve.
Productivity
It can be easy to think that in order to boost your productivity levels you need a boost from a source of sugar or caffeine but that is not necessarily the case. When your brain is dehydrated, you can suffer from confusion, drowsiness, and mental fog, which can all have an impact on your work.
You might assume that dehydration occurs when you are seriously lacking in water, but the reality is that your brain can start to feel the effects of losing as little as 1-3% of your body weight in water.
Ensuring that you consume a steady amount of water throughout the day can help keep your brain sharp and your productivity levels high.
Mood booster
Mental health is something that we should all be prioritizing, but did you know that your water intake can help you to do this? Studies have found that drinking more water can help reduce depression, control anger levels, and make you feel less tense and confused. This means that your mood while you are at work can be greatly improved just by making sure that you are drinking plenty of water throughout the day.
There are a huge number of benefits to making sure that you drink plenty of water and maintain good levels of hydration while you are at work. This can not only help with your overall health, but it can also improve your experience while you are at work by combatting issues such as stress, tension, and productivity. Ensuring that there is a supply of fresh, cool water on hand all day can make it easier to remember to drink as well as being more enjoyable than a glass from the tap.
