Water is essential to a balanced diet and is crucial for maintaining good health. However, it’s important to be mindful of the best time to drink water to ensure the body functions properly. Drinking water helps keep the body’s cells hydrated and refreshed, promoting their optimal function. Water also plays a crucial role in facilitating the chemical reactions that occur in the body. However, it’s important to remember that water intake should be moderate, as an imbalance can have adverse effects on vital organs such as the kidneys, heart, brain, and gastrointestinal system. Therefore, it’s important to listen to your body and drink according to its needs and demands.
What are the optimal times for consuming water?
Drinking water is essential for the body, but it is important to drink it at appropriate times throughout the day. Here are some optimal times to consume water:
Early in the morning: When you wake up in the morning your body is dehydrated due to long resting hours. Moreover, your stomach is empty and has just stomach juices in it. Drinking water on an empty stomach dilutes the juices makes the stomach clean and also flush out anti-oxidants from the body.
After taking a bath: Taking a hot bath can cause dehydration, so drinking a glass of water before or after a bath prevents dehydration.
Before and during the menstrual cycle: Drinking water before and during a period decreases the period’s cramps. Most of the cramps and headache occurs during periods due to dehydration. When you hydrate yourself before and during periods it lowers the pain.
Before eating food/ before meals:
Drinking water before taking food helps in weight reduction and decreases appetite. When you drink water before taking food it causes stomach fullness due to which less food is eaten. Which causes weight loss.
Before, During, and After Exercise: However, in vigorous exercise body loses water and electrolytes which leads to dehydration. So, it’s very much necessary to drink plain water or a drink. That contains electrolytes to prevent dehydration and electrolyte imbalance.
Triggering factor for migraines: Most of the patients who suffer from migraines experience headaches when they are dehydrated. Dehydration causes it to be viscous which leads to slow flow of blood to brain tissue resulting in headaches. So, keeping one self-hydrated can prevent migraine attacks.
In Hot Weather: Try to drink more water or fluids in hot weather. as the body becomes dehydrated in hot weather.
When you Feel Thirsty: Thirst is a signal that indicates your body needs more water. Whenever you feel thirsty must drink water or fluid to fill the gap of dehydration, and must respond to your body’s demand.
Before and after drinking alcohol:
Drinking alcohol can cause dehydration, which may lead to headaches and hangovers. To prevent dehydration, it is recommended to drink a glass of water before, during, and after drinking alcohol, especially before going to bed. Adding some salt or sugar to your water bottle can help you recover some electrolytes that may be lost due to drinking alcohol.
Drink more water in constipation: Drinking more water if you take a diet that may lead to constipation such as rice.
Before and After Receiving Chemotherapy and Radiations:
Most chemotherapy drugs cause dehydration due to their side effects such as nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. Hydrate yourself before going to your chemo cycle. Take a water bottle with you during a visit to the hospital and have must drink water after receiving chemotherapy.
After having a contrast or dye used for a diagnostic purpose.
After undergoing a diagnostic test that involves the use of dyes or contrasts, it is common for patients to experience kidney injury. Therefore, healthcare providers typically check the patient’s kidney function before performing such tests. If you have recently undergone a test such as computed tomography with contrast, it is crucial to keep yourself hydrated to help your kidneys function properly.
After Having a Skin Burn:
Skin burns can lead to severe dehydration. It is important to drink plenty of water with electrolytes to replace lost fluids, and consume high-protein foods to promote faster healing.
After Having Sunburn:
Playing sports in hot weather can lead to sunburn, which can cause fluid to come to the surface of the skin and result in severe dehydration. Sunburn can also affect the color and turgor of the skin. Therefore, it is important to be cautious when playing on open grounds in hot weather and to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water.
After having any Adverse Effects of a Medication(Best Times for Drinking Water) :
If you experience an allergic reaction to a new medication, it’s important to drink plenty of water to help dilute your blood and flush out the medication quickly.
After having a Heat Stroke: Heat stroke occurs due to severe dehydration. Must drink plenty of water with salt and some sugar to restore your body from dehydration and heatstroke.
After Having a Lithotripsy:
Lithotripsy is a medical procedure that aims to break down kidney stones into tiny particles, which can then be easily flushed out from the kidneys. After the procedure, it is recommended to drink plenty of water to help cleanse the kidneys by flushing out these small particles.
Water With Medication(Best Times for Drinking )
It is recommended that certain patients who take medications that can cause dehydration or kidney damage increase their water intake. Doing so can reduce the risk of medication-related kidney damage by flushing out the end products of the medication.
Water before bedtime:
Drinking a little water to prevent dehydration is recommended before bed, but excessive drinking should be avoided due to frequent awakenings in the washroom which may cause sleep disturbance.
When you are on long travels and flights:
It is important to stay hydrated during long flights and travels as the dry air in high-altitude cabins can cause dehydration. Always carry a refillable water bottle with you.
When you have an Urinary Tract Infection:
If you are having an infection in your urinary tract you must drink plenty of water throughout the day so that the bacteria colonized must shed off and eliminate through urine.
Drinking water is crucial in preventing various complications such as acute kidney injury, heat strokes, sunburns, and skin burns. It also minimizes the adverse effects of many medications and protects the body from many dangerous elements in the environment. To live a healthy life, it is important to stay hydrated at all times.
