by Belinda Ollewagen | Sep 18, 2018 | water cooler
Dehydration is not something that only happens to athletes – it can occur regardless of age, circumstance or fitness levels – but the process is often accelerated when we exercise, so it’s especially important before we begin any activity that we make the water cooler our very first stop.
When we work hard our bodies heat up, and in an effort to prevent heat stroke and lower our core temperature, our bodies perspire. If the weather is warm or if we’re being particularly strenuous, our bodies continue to perspire in an ongoing effort to bring about balance, but this ongoing act can leave us dehydrated. A good indicator of our hydration levels is the color of our urine. If it’s pale and nearly transparent our body is properly hydrated, but if it’s dark in colour we run the risk of being dehydrated and should replenish with drinking water immediately.
To avoid dehydration, the most important thing to remember is to plan ahead. If you’re exercising at the gym, be sure to fill your sports bottle at the nearest water cooler before you begin your training. Remember to take frequent sips of water and if you’re going to be exercising for longer than an hour you might want to switch to electrolyte-enhanced drinking water. If you’re looking for an extra source of electrolytes try bananas and dates; both have high levels of electrolyte potassium and help your body refuel during a strenuous workout.
How much water you need will depend on how much you sweat – the bigger you are and the more intense your work-out, the more you’ll tend to perspire. This is also true if the environment is hot and humid. If you want to work out how much water you’ll need to replenish hydration, an easy way to figure this out is to weigh yourself before you exercise and again after you’ve exercised – for every kilogram of body weight you lose, be sure to drink up to 1.5 liters of water.
Be aware of feeling light-headed, this is a typical sign of dehydration. When you don’t have enough water in your system, your blood pressure can drop which is what causes the dizziness. If this happens remember to slow your pace and visit the water cooler to increase your water intake. Remember too that you should continue drinking water throughout the day, even after your workout, as it can take your body a full day to recover from the ill-effects of dehydration.
by Belinda Ollewagen | Sep 18, 2018 | water cooler
We all know how important it is to remain properly hydrated and that drinking water should form part of our daily regime, but many of us struggle to incorporate it into our routine. By making smarter choices, by ensuring we make regular trips to the water cooler, and by making it easy and convenient to do, we can all find ways to make drinking water a healthy and much-needed habit.
Here are 10 easy ways to incorporate hydration in your day:
- Make drinking water part of the different stages of your day – when you wake up, before you leave for the office, when you arrive at the office, before lunch etc.
- Make it easy to reach for – keep a bottle of drinking water next to your bed, in your car, on your desk.
- When you get to work, fill a large water bottle at the water cooler and try to finish it before you leave the office.
- Replace your mid-morning coffee with a cup of hot water – add a teaspoon of honey to make it more appetizing.
- If you feel like drinking a soda, visit the water cooler first – it will quench your thirst and if you do end up having a soda, you might only drink half of it.
- Drink a glass of water after each visit to the restroom – not only will it help to replenish your system, but using this as a trigger will help cement the routine.
- If you’re feeling hungry outside of your meal-times, try drinking water before you grab a snack – very often the signs for thirst are mistaken for hunger.
- Opt for water-rich foods if you must snack – oranges, cucumber, watermelon, tomatoes; these are all excellent ways to supplement your daily water intake.
- Before you leave the office to head home, again fill your bottle at the water cooler – if by now you’re weary of drinking plain water, add a slice of lemon or orange to make it more appetizing.
- And at the end of the day when you sit down to dinner, make sure the table setting includes a glass of water, this is particularly important if you’re having a glass of wine – water should match wine glass for glass.
by Belinda Ollewagen | Sep 13, 2018 | water cooler, Water Coolers
Benjamin Franklin said ‘the bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten’ – and his words remain true more than 200 years later. So often people will shop around for an essential item and be lured by the price tag, thinking that they’re making a huge saving, when in actual fact what they’re not taking into account is what the long-term costs of buying ‘cheap’ may be.
A good example is the fact that many stationery or office supplies stores now sell water coolers, bottled water and water cooler care kits. It might seem convenient to shop for all your office supplies in one place, but the decision-making process regarding the quality of a water cooler and the many health and productivity benefits it brings to your employees is very different to the decision-making process required when selecting office paper or printer cartridges – and if you did need assistance with regards to what water solution would be ideal for your office, the chances of the sales person being an expert on water coolers and what would best suit your needs is slim.
Apart from what might seem convenient, people are also often attracted to the price tag – water coolers, bottled water or even hygiene kits may be cheaper at one of these stores, but at this point it’s wise to remember Franklin’s words ‘the bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price’. Something that might cost you less today will more than likely cost you more tomorrow.
What happens when the water cooler needs a service or it breaks and needs repairing – have you taken into account the cost of servicing, or exorbitant call out fees and repairs? How about the water bottles – are they reusable and once their life span is complete, do you know if they’re being recycled responsibly by the supplier? And what of the water cleaning kits – are they doing a proper job of sanitising the machine or is the hygiene questionable?
Choosing a reputable supplier like AquAid might seem more expensive initially, but their level of expertise and service is unsurpassed; all costs are included in the rental agreement, so there are no nasty surprises down the road; they care about their carbon footprint so all products are recycled responsibly; they deliver high-quality products at all times; and they are also socially responsible – a percentage of sales is donated to Christian Aid and the Africa Trust. It’s a win-win situation, so spend wisely today and save tomorrow – call AquAid on 0800 772 3003 to find out more.
by Belinda Ollewagen | Sep 13, 2018 | instant tap, water cooler
1) It’s environmentally friendly
Because instant taps and mains fed water coolers are bottleless, there is no need for bottle deliveries which means fewer trucks on the road thereby conserving fuel, minimizing carbon emissions and reducing our carbon footprint.
2) It’s limitless
Because the water comes from your main water supply it means you can’t ever run out of water. There’s no need to wait for the next water delivery, because with instant taps and mains fed water coolers there will always be a constant supply of healthy and safely-filtered drinking water on tap.
3) It’s hygienic
Although your water cooler is attached to your main water supply, it doesn’t mean you’ll be drinking water directly from the tap. We all know that our tap water contains various chemicals, but with our bottleless water coolers your water passes through a highly-advanced filtration system first to provide you with the safest drinking water possible.
4) It’s convenient
Because there are no bulky water bottles, there is no longer a need to find storage space. Our instant taps and mains fed water coolers are all sleek and compact, taking up less space than before. And because there are no water bottle deliveries, the admin process is vastly simplified.
5) It’s socially responsible
By choosing AquAid you not only take care of your own water needs, but you also help impoverished communities, because a percentage of sales is automatically donated to The Africa Trust and Christian Aid who help bring safe drinking water to some of Africa’s poorest people.
Five very good reasons to switch to instant taps and mains fed water coolers. Also remember that if you prefer to stay with bottled water coolers, AquAid offer a refillable 19ltr bottle which is reused between 30 and 35 times, so this is also a more environmentally friendly option. Whatever your water needs may be, AquAid have the solution.
by Belinda Ollewagen | Sep 13, 2018 | instant tap, water cooler
It was the hottest June in 40 years and the weather services is predicting more heatwaves for the rest of the season, making it one of the warmest summers on record. Heatwaves are a global phenomenon at the moment, and what many experts say is a taste of what’s to come in the future – our new ‘normal’. While we need to get our head around that and what it means for us long-term, we have to be cognisant of our immediate responsibility to staff members to ensure they remain properly hydrated. This is not just a health issue, because now more than ever, remaining properly hydrated is essential for peak performance. Business owners are constantly looking at ways to improve productivity, and one simple and cost-effective way to do so is to ensure there are enough instant taps or water coolers in break out areas so that staff have access to clean and safe drinking water throughout the working day.
The Natural Hydration Council, in their ‘Hydration at Work’ document stated that ‘the brain is particularly sensitive to changes in water balance, which in turn, can affect mental performance (e.g. concentration, alertness and short-term memory) and overall work-related productivity.’ In one study it was found that water deprivation had a negative impact on the reaction times of the male and female volunteers, they were left feeling fatigued and sluggish. Another study found that five adult volunteers that consumed very little drinking water for either 13, 24 or 37 hours had decidedly impaired concentration and reaction times.
Other negative side effects of dehydration include headaches and moodiness, ‘when we are lacking fluid, we can start to feel increasingly agitated, impatient and tense’ – not the best demeanor for being productive. While the type of work we do will affect the level of hydration necessary – after all someone doing manual labor outside fully exposed to the extreme heat will need far more drinking water than someone working indoors – but even those of us in an office exposed to air conditioning, which is known to dry out our skin, need to top up on our water intake to ensure we are sufficiently hydrated.
As we gear up for even hotter days, let’s be sure that we’re prepared and have everything we need to ensure employees are happy, healthy and productive. For your personally tailored water solution to help you do so, and which may encompass any one of the water cooler or instant taps ranges, reach out to AquAid today.
by Fern Shaw | Sep 3, 2018 | mains fed water cooler, water cooler, Water Coolers
In a market where you may be forgiven thinking that like = like, it’s good to remind ourselves of why having a water cooler from AquAid is really the best idea:
The first benefit almost goes without saying: Whichever AquAid water cooler you choose to have installed in your premises, you will have access to chilled (and hot) drinking water throughout your working day.
The second benefit is that you will be relying on a company that has more than 20 years’ experience in the provision of high quality water coolers, water and water related products.
Reach is the third benefit – with over 22 branches throughout the UK, you will be supplied by a local depot staffed by a team who are familiar with the area and your requirements.
Fourth benefit: Your environment. We’re very cognisant of our carbon footprint. Having a local AquAid means we minimise our footprint by being able to travel shorter distances to deliver your water and service and sanitise your water cooler. We also re-use our water bottles (up to 35x) and then recycle the bottles in a responsible manner. The cups we supply are made from a single type of plastic which means they are much easier to recycle; we are also hard at work encouraging our customers to adopt recycling practices wherever they are in the UK..
The fifth benefit is also one of our most important and one we are most proud of: Since our inception some 20 years ago, Aquaid have partnered with the charities Christian Aid and the Africa Trust. These donations have enabled these charities to continue with the vital role they play in the lives of millions of people. This is achieved through donating a portion of our sales for each bottle of water delivered and each mains-fed cooler installed. The result of these donations (to date) is in excess of £13,000,000 provided for the implementation of sustainable water projects which have helped more than 5 million people.
Value adds inherent as part of our brand
With each Mains-Fed cooler installed at a school, we provide 100 water refillable water bottles for the children, to help encourage them to keep drinking water.
We also provide hydration awareness posters which clearly and simply illustrate good hydration practices, thereby enabling a healthier, more productive lifestyle, whether at the workplace or at school.
To enjoy all of these (and more) benefits while simply keeping refreshed, don’t delay, contact us at AquAid – we’ll be delighted to assist.
