A new habit

I love water--lakes, oceans, streams--I can look at them all day.

But I often forget to drink it.

It's essential. I know that. In fact I keep discovering more ways that dehydration could be impacting my health. And they're not good.

There are the obvious ones like dry mouth and dry tongue. Then there are less obvious ones: fatigue, irritability, dizziness, confusion. All things I struggle with and all can be caused by dehydration. Poor sleep can also be a symptom.

Last night I read that waking up groggy and cranky in the morning can be because our bodies have been without water for several hours.*

There are many other symptoms of dehydration. Please look it up if you suspect you might not be drinking enough.

I have other physical problems too. I wonder how many of them could be from not drinking enough water.

So what is enough? Some articles say we need 64 ounces per day (the old 8x8 rule: eight 8 oz glasses per day). Some say it depends on your activity level and the weather. Others I just read this morning say we need one ounce of water for every pound we weigh. Yikes that's a lot! I won't tell you how many that is for me. You can do the math for yourself ;-).

Anyway, I want to make a new habit of drinking more water. I'll aim for 64 oz. for now. That seems more manageable. Other liquids count too. But I want to at least try to get most of it in the form of just plain water.

This morning when I first woke up I drank 8 oz. And while I've been writing this I drank the other half of the 16 oz. bottle. I'm surprised by how easy it was. In fact I was still thirsty so I got another bottle.

So far so good. Maybe I can teach this old girl a new habit! I'll try to let you know how it goes.

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* from "The Joy of Missing Out--live more by doing less" by Tonya Dalton, page 120