Help me hydrate

April 8, 2022 5:31 PM

What do you find is the best way to remind yourself to hydrate?

This would probably be easier if I worked from home, but I don't. Sometimes I'll get home and realize I haven't really drank much water, especially if it was an especially hectic day. Of course trying to catch up after work leads to me getting up at 2 am to pee. I'm on my feet most of the workday, and have a water bottle, but I can't carry it with me and it's not in my immediate view.

So, what's worked best for you, Mefi?

posted by cozenedindigo to Health & Fitness (11 answers total)

One thing to try is you decide to commit to drinking some amount on your way there & some amount on your way back. Easy to do and your body will appreciate it immediately.
I also have an app I use to give myself points when I do things I'm trying to remember to do & one of the items is just "drank one whole cup of water". That way I always "get something" in return for "being good" because virtue isn't really its own reward these days.
posted by bleep at 6:12 PM on April 8, 2022

Best answer: I used to have a Fitbit that would remind me to walk every hour. You could instead have something like that and instead of walking you drink some water.
posted by Sassyfras at 6:41 PM on April 8, 2022 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Ah! Never thought of using my Fitbit. I had those reminders turned off, but that's a great alternate use for them.
posted by cozenedindigo at 6:59 PM on April 8, 2022 [1 favorite]

I got a 1-liter water bottle and made a promise to drink it before I got off the ferry on my way home. So, about half the time I was chugging it as it was pulling up to the slip. I would say decide how much water you want to drink and make a deadline for the quantity. if you don't make the deadline, you fail the day (in my case, I didn't put a sticker on my calendar) and start over in the morning.

Another option is to build a routine with water. So, fill a glass at night that you chug as soon as you open your eyes in the morning. Or, always drink a full glass of water with every meal or break. Then it's built into your routine.
posted by blnkfrnk at 7:09 PM on April 8, 2022 [2 favorites]

Mentally connect drinking water to a specific daily task- while checking email or driving or even pooping.
And put a big glass of water beside the bed so you drink it before you even stand up, gets the morning off to a good start.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 7:27 PM on April 8, 2022

I bought a big water bottle to keep on my desk that has lines to show how much you should have drunk by what time of day.
posted by music for skeletons at 10:05 PM on April 8, 2022 [1 favorite]

For a year, I was on a medical regimen which came with a requirement for drinking 60oz a day. The backbone of my plan was drinking certain generous amounts with my meals, based on the goal for the day.

The medical folks are very hostile to caffeine, and wanted me to count coffee at a 50% discount, i.e., a 8oz cup would count only 4oz against my goal. Frankly, I didn't take this too seriously, mostly because they couldn't give me a reasonable explanation for why. I mention it because it may seem to have a bigger effect on you that I felt it had on me.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:00 AM on April 9, 2022

I have various medical conditions that are exacerbated by being dehydrated, so I've had to really step up my game wrt hydration lately (with mixed results). Getting a 32+ oz water bottle and telling myself that I have to drink 2 fills of it a day helped me the most. I also try to keep it in my hand when I'm doing things like playing video games. Maybe when you're home, just keep your water bottle really close and make sipping from it into a habit.

The medical folks are very hostile to caffeine, and wanted me to count coffee at a 50% discount, i.e., a 8oz cup would count only 4oz against my goal.

IANAD and this may be different for someone with different medical needs, but the whole "caffeine dehydrates you" thing isn't really true, unless you're drinking more than 5 cups a day. Moderate coffee intake is as hydrating as water. The doctor I see at the nephrology clinic told me that coffee, tea, whatever all still counts towards daily hydration.
posted by fight or flight at 6:09 AM on April 9, 2022 [1 favorite]

Try to make it appealing - I love water but only if it is well chilled. So I make a point of getting chilled water and of keeping it at my preferred temperature until I finish the bottle. For me that meant investing into an insulated stainless steel bottle that keeps my water nice and cold for hrs. And whilst I can get chilled water in the office I might have to add ice cubes to get it down to my preferred temperature range elsewhere so my bottle has a neck that is wide enough to let me do that…much more likely to get through my bottle that way and then fill it up and get through another.
posted by koahiatamadl at 9:09 AM on April 9, 2022 [1 favorite]

When you get up in the morning, drink 10 ounces of water. Every time you urinate, drink another 10 ounces of water. It’s a self-perpetuating system. (And hopefully an effective one as I’m not fond of kidney stones.)
posted by ReginaHart at 4:09 PM on April 9, 2022

You say you can't keep your water bottle with you so I don't know about your phone, but I've been using the app Waterlogged for many years now and have found it really helpful. Even if you can't have your phone with you at all times, it can send reminders to your fitbit or other smartwatch, and it'll also tell you that you should have consumed X ounces of water by Y time of day as the day goes on.
posted by Brittanie at 2:51 PM on April 10, 2022