The office might not seem like an area of focus when thinking about hydration. You aren’t sweating, its usually nice and cool, and you are likely sitting for majority of the day. However, with constant meetings, deadlines stacking up, and the dry air from air-conditioning, it may actually be harder to stay hydrated in an office environment than you think. In fact, a survey looking at 1,000 office employees found that only 23% of employees were able to drink enough water during the day.
Why is it important?
With the lack of sweating and high intensity physical tasks in an office, it may seem like your hydration status is almost irrelevant to your work. However, as little as 1-2% dehydration can impact your short term memory, mood, attention, and decision making. Because of this, it is important that we maintain optimal hydration to get through the day in the best way possible.
Tip 1: Bring a water bottle
You likely bring a water bottle to work already, and if you do, you know how difficult it is to stay hydrated without it. Keeping a water bottle with you that you can have on your desk and take to meetings is vital in making sure you are able to drink enough water. In addition to this, having the water bottle in sight at all times will help remind you to keep drinking throughout the day.
Tip 2: Set mental reminders
Having an idea of how much water you should be drinking and mentally noting your progress throughout the day is a great way to stay on track. If you know you should be having 2 litres of water while at work and can remind yourself after lunch to fill up your water bottle for the rest of the day, it will be significantly easier to get enough water in throughout the day.
Tip 3: Use flavourings
We know plain water is probably the best way in the office to stay hydrated, however, it would be optimistic to think that introducing flavourings into your drinks would not help you drink more during the day. By adding flavouring, you are going to ensure that you actively drink more water. A tip here is to use a hydration solution as your flavouring over sugary alternatives. This way you are able to not only increase your water intake but also ensure you are hydrating yourself as efficiently as possible.