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Time to get moving!
You may be tempted to grab a cup of coffee or an energy drink when you wake up, but experts say there’s a different beverage that can kick-start your day in the best way — good ole H20.
“I always drink a big glass of water,” Dr. Brian Hoeflinger, a board-certified Ohio neurosurgeon, recently shared about his morning routine.
Drinking water is essential for replenishing lost fluids, flushing out toxins, stimulating metabolism, controlling calorie intake, aiding digestion, energizing muscles, boosting skin health, strengthening immunity, regulating body temperature, maintaining regular bowel movements and enhancing brain function.
And there’s evidence it should be the first thing you grab — after your alarm.
A 2020 study found that drinking 500 milliliters of water, about two glasses, after 12 hours of dehydration improved memory, alleviated thirst and boosted mood.
Drinking 200 milliliters provided many of these benefits, while 100 milliliters was much less effective.
“Water is the basic element of the human body, composing 60%–70% of body weight. It is crucial for every system and metabolic activity of the human body,” the researchers from Peking University in China wrote in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
We’ve long been told to consume eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day, but experts actually recommend ½ an ounce to 1 ounce of water per pound of body weight.
Emily Leeming, a microbiome scientist and registered dietitian, suggests keeping a jug with a glass by your bed.
“Or making sure you drink before and after you brush your teeth,” she recently wrote in her “Second Brain” Substack.
Dr. Shiara Ortiz-Pujols, director of obesity medicine at Northwell Staten Island University Hospital, pointed out that we lose water while we sleep through physiological processes like breathing and sweating.
“Drinking water helps to rehydrate you for optimal functioning — especially before your first cup of coffee — as this will serve to further dehydrate you,” Ortiz-Pujols told The Post.
“Drinking water helps to prepare your digestive system for the food that you will eat later in the day, especially if it is warm water,” she added. “This helps to promote regular bowel habits and to alleviate constipation.”
While warm water can wake up the digestive system, cold water can slightly boost your metabolism as your body works to warm it up.
If you’re not ready to take the plunge when you pop awake, physicians say it’s OK to catch up on your hydration goals later in the day.
“The health aspects of staying hydrated is measured over the course of a day,” Dr. William W. Li, author of “Eat to Beat Disease: The New Science of How Your Body Can Heal Itself,” told Real Simple, “rather than the time of day you drink water or the sequence of drinking water in relation to breakfast or any other meal.”
