How to care for your body - Hydration
The five fundaments of proper self care are eating enough food, drinking enough water, getting enough restful sleep, exercising, and your personal hygiene. If even one of these fundaments is out of balance for a while, you will feel unwell. That's why most times when you have a headache, feel exhausted or just unhappy, the first questions include whether you ate, drank or slept recently, when the last time you went outside was, and when you took your last shower.
It's annoying to hear, especially when you struggle with your mental health. But sadly, it's very important and very true - when you make a change in these habits, you will notice a difference in your wellbeing, even if it's small at first.
Most people struggle with consistently keeping these fundaments covered, so don't worry, you're not alone if you feel like it's a lot.
Let's take it step by step. And step one should always be hydration.
Start with drinking enough. Always, always start with drinking enough. Water is life. Without water, there is no life. Even our bodies are mostly water. So it only makes sense we need it the most out of the fundaments of self care.
The human body needs about 2 to 3 liters of water a day. The heavier the body, the more exercise you get and the more you sweat, the more water you require. If drinking water by itself is difficult for you, there are lots of ways to make it more appealing for you. I'll be listing some useful examples below:
Set an alarm every hour to remind you to drink a 250 ml glass of water. If you wake up at 8 AM for example, you'll have 2 liters by 4 PM, and 3 liters by 8 PM.
Use small drinking glasses, or cups you enjoy drinking out of in general. I personally find it easier and more appealing to fill a 80 ml glass three times in a row than to drink from a bigger glass.
Make it fun. I pretend I'm taking shots from my 80 ml glass for example. Or I pretend I'm a flower on the verge of drying out and I finally receive much needed rain. It doesn't matter if it's silly, as long as it helps you stay hydrated.
If you're like me and water makes you nauseous or gives you an icky feeling, I suggest trying healthy additions like water syrups, waterdrop microdrink cubes, making iced tea or fruit juice yourself, or if you crave the bubbles of a soda, I can only recommend purchasing a soda maker. You can regulate the amount of bubbles you want yourself - AND you can add syrup after if you want, too!
Other alternatives to get more water into your body include (but aren't limited to) sucking on ice cubes or eating crushed ice for example. Foods like watermelon, strawberries, cucumbers or milk also help with keeping you hydrated.
Keep a water diary or a log, if it helps you. Personally I feel stressed out by these things, but if it's helpful for you to write it down whenever you drank something, go ahead! I saw there are also apps designed like games that help you drink enough, like every time you drink water and type it in, a plant grows a little more... it's very cute, but like I said, stressful for me personally.
If you have any more ideas or questions, feel free to comment, reblog, or send me an ask :)
Hydration can be very difficult, especially when you're ill, busy, or dealing with sensory issues. If you can manage to hydrate well, your body will thank you. You're at a lower risk for UTIs, your body has an easier time flushing out toxins and illnesses, your skin will become clearer, maintaining your weight will be easier too... it has lots and lots of positive effects.
You can do it! ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧
