Drinking water is important, don't think I need to explain that. And many times I just forget to drink enough during the day, usually when occupied at work, which is not so good.
So, are there any hacks that will force me to drink more?
Having soft drinks or cola helps to drink more, but that's not healthy either, so I really prefer only water.
Instead of a random timer to remind me to do X I found tying X to another activity Y the most effective solution.
For water, I start the day with a glass and drink with meals (which is a start and also helps me feel full sooner).
But I also drink
I have a female colleague who works as a secretary - her trigger is getting up to grab something from the printer. Ended the recurring UTIs for her, that are the bane of so many females’ life.
So I suggest you think about regular activities during your work day and connect them with drinking.
A few additional notes:
This is a 5€ IKEA carafe with two twigs of lemon balm and a small handful of blueberries:
This is one trick I picked up from a friend that can be applied to remind yourself of things you tend to forget.
If you use a smartphone or a laptop often during the day, set its password as 'water' or something similar that isn't easy to guess by others. Every time you unlock (which would be a good number of times, I suppose), you'll have to enter the password which will do the job of reminding you of drinking water.
Hope this helps! :) In case of a fingerprint or face unlock, the other answers would serve better. :D
I have this same problem, so I'm glad you asked this question. To be honest, I don't think I can really outdo the answer from Stephie, but I will share with you some things I've done to help me drink more water:
First thing upon waking (after using the bathroom, brushing my teeth, letting pets out), I force myself to drink at least one bottle of water. (If you're opposed to encouraging the use of plastic, this is equivalent to two cups.) If I do nothing else healthy that day, at least I've put 16 ounces of water into my system. A day has a way of making everything but your health a priority, so if you do this first thing, you've done at least that much for yourself. Plus, I've recently read that some studies have been done indicating this is very beneficial to one's health. As a case in point, have you heard of this thing called Japanese Water Therapy? You can read more about it here:
This Japanese Water Therapy is the Key to Losing Weight and Staying Healthy!
Personally, I'd have to be more convinced of the benefits of drinking four to six glasses of water in one session before committing to such a thing and I really like brushing my teeth before I drink my water, but nobody lives longer than the Japanese, so maybe there's something to it.
The other nice thing about drinking water first thing in the morning is that it can help you wake up.
Drinking water is a relatively mindless activity, so you can do other things while you're drinking, but I don't recommend sitting down at a computer while you drink. It can be too distracting. Instead, opt for something you should be able to pull yourself away from easily. Television programs with commercial breaks are good choices as are news broadcasts on the radio (because the news almost always turns to a story you're just not that interested in). If you want, you can also add in some light stretching or yoga.
Some people do this with alcohol, but you can do the same thing with water. Obviously, many drinking games aren't well suited for this. For example, I don't recommend "beer bong" for any beverage. (Who's idea of fun is this?) I also don't recommend swapping out water for beer in "beer pong." This game simply has far too much setup involved and potential to be messy. Plus, it just isn't an efficient way to get your daily water intake. Instead, I recommend something more like the ones you'll find in this article here:
The 25 best movie drinking games to PLAY RESPONSIBLY
Obviously, you don't have to use these same movies. You can decide on others and come up with rules of your own. And you don't have to limit yourself to movies. You could use television programs, radio shows, songs, audio books, etc. Make up whatever rules you want. Your imagination is the limit.
I don't know anybody who doesn't have to go to the bathroom at least three to four times a day (at a minimum), so this is something everyone can do. When you go to the bathroom, make a habit of looking at your urine. Granted, a lot of different things may factor into how light or dark your urine appears, but in most situations, comparing the appearance of your urine to a chart like this:
![![]()](https://i.sstatic.net/8HWhC.jpg)
can be really helpful, especially in warm climates and/or extended exercise sessions, where that one bottle of water you may or may not have had in the morning doesn't last too long.
Throughout any given day, there are certain activities that really don't require a lot of brain power or concentration. These might include commuting to work, waiting for someone or something (to include being put on hold during a phone call), petting an animal/walking a pet, watching television, listening to the radio, and so on and so forth. All of these activities are perfect for taking the time to add to your daily water intake. Don't miss out on these opportunities to do something good for yourself.
Most people I know enjoy trying new things and while there might be fewer choices with water than with something like wine, you can still find ways to get enthused about it. In addition to what Stephie has suggested, I highly recommend cucumber water if you haven't already tried it. If you try it and you like it, buy yourself a nice glass pitcher, free of lead, and always have some of this on hand. Coconut water is another tasty variation on water. If neither of these are on hand, you may want to just opt for a healthy splash or two of your favorite juice. In fact making a habit of cutting your juice with water is a good habit to adopt because juice contains a lot of sugar even if no sugar has been added to it. If you want some more really great ideas for how you can spruce up your water (without adding sugar), read this article here from Wellness Mama:
10 Refreshing Infused Water Recipes (With Fruit & Herbs!)
or this one here from the Food Network:
How to Make Water the Most-Delicious Thing Ever
Psychologists say that fear is the single most powerful motivator. I don't know many who would disagree (although some say it isn't the best one). Regardless, if you happen to agree with this, you may want to do some research on the effects of not drinking enough water. Here's a few articles you may want to read:
Drink Up! Most of Us Could Benefit From More Water
What Happens To Your Brain When You're Dehydrated? The Results Can Be Kind Of Scary
Ten warning signs you're not drinking enough water
All of the above is what has worked for me, personally, but I will confess that occasionally I don't always adhere to these good habits. I don't beat myself up about it. I just make a conscious effort to do better the next day.
And though I strongly feel that adopting these particular habits contributes to my good health, I realize they might not be for everybody. It is very likely that nobody knows, better than you, what motivates you to do something. Take some time to identify what those things are and then find a way to apply them to water consumption. Surely you've had to force yourself to do something at least once or twice before. What steps did you take or mindset did you adopt to make it happen? Choosing habits that appeal to you and fit into your lifestyle easily may be helpful. Setting aside some time for preparation may be another key to your success on this.
Thankfully, those of us who have been averse to drinking water now have a myriad of ways to make it more enticing. I wish you well as you discover what works best for you.
I like BrettFromLA's answer, but I would also suggest getting your favorite container and mark "1/4", "1/2", and "3/4" on the outside of it. Then, set your goal of drinking enough to empty the container twice (or whatever) per day. For me, the idea of breaking the big goal into smaller pieces will help.
Good luck.
Have your bottle always with you.
Simply buy yourself a bottle that is so handy that you always take it with you. Just remember and make that a habit. The drinking part naturally comes with it. To ignite that habit you can put the bottle in you peripheral vision so it functions as a visual cue.
Standing periodically is important too, so I've just set a timer for myself. You could do the same thing for water:
You can decide how much water you want to drink in a day, then divide it by the number of times you expect to drink from the glass/bottle and refill it. That will determine how much water to put in your glass/bottle.
set a reminder on your phone as i did so it'll remi d you of drinking every now and then and put a sign or reminder note on the fridge so you wil see it everytime you open your fridge "Drink more Water for healthier life style. . :)
Always have a glass of water available in hands reach. Soon enough you will notice that glass and take a sip, whenever you are thirsty. In a couple of weeks, the habit will be there.
I bought a 32 oz water jug.
I got myself into only 2 habits: 1. fill it first thing every morning, 2. make sure I have consumed all of it by time I go to bed.
This question was asked almost word-for-word a few months ago but it appears to have been closed/deleted in the meantime, probably because it was regarded as a "mind-hack".
I will give the same answer that I gave that question: The idea that you have to force yourself to drink water is nonsense. Evolution has equipped us with an incredible set of biological functions that mean we actually feel thirsty when we need water!
About 70 years ago, someone publicised the fact that humans consume about 2 litres of water per day from all of our drinks and the water in our food. This was misconstrued by some people to mean that we HAVE to drink 2 litres of water per day to be healthy. This is simply not true, never has been, and after 70 years, people still assume that it is.
Snopes has a very good article that details the facts.
Drink when you are thirsty, then you don't need any lifehack at all.
EDIT: Apparently some people are reluctant to be told that they have been labouring under a misapprehension for years, so I will try to explain it another way.
FACT1: If you don't ingest enough water to meet the biological needs of your body, you will die. FACT2: You are not dead
THEREFORE: You are getting enough water
Either you are doing this by keeping your water level fairly stable at all times, or you are spending some part of the time with your water level lower than optimum.
The implication of the question is that having a lower than optimum water level is somehow detrimental to health.
For normally healthy people I have never seen any evidence that having a below-optimum hydration is detrimental to health. This is one of those claims that is allowed to go unchallenged and is assumed to be true by vast numbers of people.
HOWEVER, I have seen evidence that drinking too much water can cause health problems. In fact there is a recognised LD50 for water in humans, it equates to about 9 litres for a 100Kg person. I.e. Drink 9 litres of water and your survival chance is 50/50.
The comment about evolution hints at the truth; no, we aren't biologically equipped for the modern world - we are equipped to live in a world where access to food and water are sporadic. We are supposed to binge on them when available, in order to survive to the next binge. Our bodies are evolved to deal with the excess when it arrives - then deal with the shortage when that arrives. Sipping water all day is completely unnatural.
Drink when you are thirsty.
