How to Avoid Injries while Being Physically Active

Importance of Drinking Enough Water

Water is a mineral that is necessary for proper bodily function. Your body is made of mostly water and when your body is dehydrated, it does not function properly. The benefits of water include:

Regulation of your body temperature
Removal of wastes from the body
Carry nutrients, oxygen and glucose to the cells to give you energy
Provides natural moisture to skin and other tissues
Cushions joints and helps strengthen muscles

So how much water should you drink daily? Because your body looses fluid from ways other than exercising, like breathing, everyone's suggested water intake may be slightly different. However, it has been suggested that the suggested fluid intake for everyone is about 2 liters of water a day. This breaks down to drinking 8 eight ounce glasses of water per day. Often people might wait until they are thirsty to drink water. This is not a good indicator because when you feel thirsty, your body is already dehydrated. They key is to drink water throughout the day to avoid feeling thirsty. Some signs that you are dehydrated may include:

Dry lips, mouth or skin
Nausea
Dark colored urine or infrequent urination
Constipation
Increased body temperature or labored breathing

In order to avoid dehydration, here are some tips for ensuring you are getting enough water throughout the day:

Make sure you are drinking water before, during and after exercise.
If you are away from home for most of the day, fill a water bottle to take with you so that you can gradually drink while you are out.
Take water breaks at work instead of coffee or tea breaks.
Drink water with meals instead of soda or other carbonated beverages.
Check your urine. If it is clear or pale yellow, you are properly hydrated, if it is a darker yellow, you need more fluids.
Drink water in between meals.

Sources: