Jump Start Your Day With This One Simple Life Hack
I am often asked by those I work with or coach. “How can I get more energy to become more productive?” Now there is no magic pill or bullet for this but there are some steps you can take. And this one simple life hack is something you have been told before, it’s available to you, you can do right now and it costs very little money if anything at all.
Drink water first thing in the morning and drink more of it throughout the day. I personally
have been drinking a glass or two of water every morning for the past few months. I have made it a part of my morning routine and it is the linchpin for my early morning productivity. I feel more energized throughout the morning and I also end up drinking less coffee as a result. To be honest, this was really hard for me. I LOVE the taste of coffee (God knows I don’t need the caffeine because I already have a lot of energy) but I committed to drinking water for a month.
Drinking more water just makes sense. According to the USGS Water Science School our bodies are made up of 60% of water and our brain and heart are made up of 73% water.
In addition to this you just spent 8, maybe 7, hopefully no less than 6 hours sleeping. Your body has not eaten or drank any liquid this entire time. Do you go this many hours when you are awake without drinking? (if so, you shouldn’t).
Why wouldn’t you drink some water first thing in the morning when you wake up?Think about it… it does makes total sense, right? Right!?
Want to know what drinking more water can do for you? Here are just a few benefits:
- Water can help you lose weight. A recent study showed that drinking water prior to a meal can reduce the amount of calories you consume.
In addition, a 2008 study from the research journal of Obesity showed that increases in the amount of water a person drinks is associated with significant loss in weight and fat over time. I am sure another part of this is by increasing the amount of water you drink it will also reduce the amount of other calorie drinks you might otherwise consume. - Water can give you more energy. When we don’t get enough water our bodies become dehydrated (duh, you knew this already) and with dehydration comes fatigue. Drinking more water will help you feel more awake and alert.
- Water can increase your mood. In her research, Dr. Nathalie Pross found that when participants in the study increased their water intake to 2.5 liters from 1.3 liters that overall they were more satisfied with there moods. In this study the opposite was also true. Participants who decreased there water intake had a deteriorated mood.
So jump start your brain, your body, and your day by consuming a glass or two of water before you move on to the juice or coffee.
Just give it a try. You have more to gain than you have to lose (unless you consider losing some weight a bad thing).
What are your reasons (really excuses) for not drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning?
And don’t assume that the blue-tinted (for marketing purposes) disposable plastic bottles of water are “better for you.” A former client, a global engineering company that builds water treatment plants, only serves tap water in pitchers at its function to underscore a point about the quality of tap water. Bottoms up!