5 Reasons to Drink Water in the Morning

Water makes up over 60 percent of your body weight and is essential to multiple functions of the body.  We use water in our cells, organs, and tissues.  Water helps regulate our body temperature, release toxins and transport nutrients into our cells. Imagine not drinking any liquid for the next eight hours. That is exactly what we do while we sleep. Since our body does not make or store water, it will slowly become dehydrated. This is normal and also why it is essential to re-hydrate your body as soon as you wake up in the morning.

Why Hydrate?

The following are my top five reasons to start hydrating first thing in the morning.

Combat Dehydration. You just went 7-8 hours without drinking any water! Your body may not be giving you the signals yet that it is thirsty, but it probably is.  Beat the signal and drink at least 16 oz. of water, better yet, drink 32 oz. Even if your body isn’t telling you that it’s thirsty, it probably is.

Fire up your metabolism. A study published by the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found that drinking at least 16 oz. of water increased the metabolic rate in healthy men and women by 30 percent.  This boost occurred within 10 minutes of drinking and lasted about 40 minutes.  This research leads me to think that if we continue drinking throughout the day our metabolism will remain active.

Flush out toxins. Your liver and kidneys do an amazing job of cleansing and ridding your body of toxins as long as your intake of fluids is adequate. Your skin will also get rid of toxins if there is enough fluid for it to sweat.  Getting fluids into your body right after you wake up will help your body flush out toxins first thing in the morning.

Fuel Your Brain. Your brain is made up of 75 percent water.  When you’re not properly hydrated, your brain operates on less fuel, and you can feel drained, experience fatigue, mood fluctuations or headaches.

You’ll eat less. The signal that we get for thirst and hunger is the same.  When most people get that signal they eat.  Instead of eating take a big drink of water and wait a little while to see if your hunger pangs return or if you’re truly were just thirsty.