by Belinda Ollewagen | Jan 18, 2019 | water cooler
The weather is dreadful at the moment, and if you’re so cold that you feel like you’re caught in a snow tunnel, the last thing you’ll want to do is take a meander over to the water cooler and fill up your glass with something cold. While this might be understandable, it’s not advisable. Despite the cold, our bodies still require proper hydration – and there are other ways of maintaining your water intake during the cold winter months.
Keep it top of mind – if you make a conscious effort to remain properly hydrated and perhaps add it to your to-do list or schedule reminders, it’s easier to keep on top of it.
Go for the hot – teas and coffees do count towards your daily water quota, but it shouldn’t be your only source of water. Try to supplement with green teas if you can – they offer many health benefits in addition to aiding hydration.
Room temperature works – ice cold water is not very inviting at this time of the year, so fill your bottle at the water cooler early morning and let it stand out and reach room temperature, making it much easier to drink.
Keep it visible – out of sight, out of mind is the old adage, so be sure that however you choose to go about drinking your daily water, it’s something that’s nearby and visible.
Soup up – an excellent way of getting in more liquid, and definitely very welcome in winter, is to up your soup intake. Have a bowl for lunch and try to have a bowl in the evenings too if you can before your main meal.
Eat your water – if you’re struggling to drink as much water as is necessary, then try to eat more of it. By including extra fruit, tomatoes, cauliflower and squash in your diet you automatically increase your hydration levels.
Avoid too much salt – and last but not least, try to reduce the amount of sodium in your diet. This doesn’t only refer to the salt you add to your food, but also certain food types like processed foods. Ultimately too much salt can cause dehydration which would render your other efforts wasted.
by Belinda Ollewagen | Jan 18, 2019 | instant tap, water cooler
Is there such a thing as drinking too much water? Should you decrease your number of visits to the office water cooler? The answer to the first question is yes. And the answer to the second question is no.
Yes, you can drink too much, but it’s an extreme ‘too much’. Runner’s World ran an article a while back entitled busting eight hydration myths, and one of those busted myths was that ‘you can’t drink too much’. If you over-hydrate it can lead to a condition called hyponatremia. As defined by the Mayo Clinic, this ‘occurs when the level of sodium in your blood is abnormally low. Sodium is an electrolyte, and it helps regulate the amount of water that’s in and around your cells. When [hyponatremia] happens, your body’s water levels rise, and your cells begin to swell. This swelling can cause many health problems, from mild to life-threating’.
And why should you not decrease your number of visits to the water cooler? Because of your thirst mechanism, that’s why. Another busted myth is that ‘thirst isn’t a good hydration tool’ – yes, it is. Your body knows what it needs, and when it needs water, it will trigger your thirst mechanism – whether you’re attuned to that trigger or not is another matter of course. So, if you learn to listen to your body and give it what it needs when it signals it, you should be fine. If you’re an athlete and you’re concerned about the amount of water you lose while exercising, knowing your sweat rate and compensating for it, is another way to ensure you receive proper hydration. Doug Casa, Ph.D., professor of kinesiology at the University of Connecticut and COO of the Korey Stringer Institute says the ‘goal isn’t to match your sweat rate, but you should try to get as close as is comfortably possible. For some runners, that may mean replacing two-thirds of the fluid they sweat during the run’. He also adds that you shouldn’t try to drink more than you lose.
And here’s another busted myth ‘caffeine dehydrates you’ – no, it doesn’t. If taken in moderation, coffee or tea can count towards your hydration quota for the day. So, if you feel the need for another hot drink, then head over to the instant taps in your breakout area and make another cup – not only will it aid your hydration levels, but the break will do you good too as both these factors are productivity enhancers!
by Fern Shaw | Jan 16, 2019 | Water Coolers
By all accounts the winter weather has been behaving itself so far. Not that we haven’t had cold weather. There are still a few chilly months to get through before the temperatures begin climbing to a more appealing level and where we won’t need a few layers of...
by Fern Shaw | Dec 25, 2018 | Uncategorized
A recent blog titled ‘And a Water Rich Pear Tree’ was actually about pears and how they’re such a water rich fruit (go and have a read, you’ll be glad you did). This blog, however, is actually about the origins of the rather wonderful (some would say long-winded) Twelve Days of Christmas.
According to Wiki: “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is an English Christmas carol that enumerates in the manner of a cumulative song a series of increasingly grand gifts given on each of the twelve days of Christmas (the twelve days that make up the Christmas season, starting with Christmas Day). The song, published in England in 1780 without music as a chant or rhyme, is thought to be French in origin.
In the interests of brevity, here are the opening bars:
On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me
A partridge in a pear tree.
On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Two turtle doves
And a partridge in a pear tree.
On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
The song is then added to (refer to the above image for the sequence), always returning to the initial bars.
You may be wondering what this has to do with your water cooler – in fact, with water in general. It’s simple, really – we’re all aware of the term ‘water cooler humour’ – which generally refers to the habit where those worker bees who gather at their dispenser for a short break to refresh their water and top up their water bottles, and use this time to swap stories, compare notes and generally catch up on what’s been happening since everyone last got together (since the last water cooler break, that is).
Now that we’re racing towards Christmas and we’re all of good cheer, but we’re all a little tired after a big year filled with conkers such as ‘to Brexit or not to Brexit’ perhaps we’re running out of steam, or cheery topics – this is where this song comes in. You can amaze and delight your colleagues with your knowledge; you can retrieve the song on your mobile and who knows, begin a rousing rendition at the water cooler break station, which might just get everyone in more of a festive spirit (or might not, either way, we won’t be accepting any responsibility if the water cooler break goes south).
However you choose to your water cooler break, remember to stick with the original quest – to replenish your water all the better to keep your merry little self hydrated this festive season.
P.S. If you don’t currently have a water cooler where you can gather to chat to your colleagues, contact us at AquAid – we have 20 years’ experience in the provision of the right water dispenser to meet your requirements.
by Belinda Ollewagen | Nov 23, 2018 | water cooler
Frederic Matthias Alexander, founder of the Alexander Technique – a form of body mindfulness that has one break the cycle of unnecessary muscular and mental tension leading to ill health – said of habits ‘people do not decide their futures, they decide their habits and their habits decide their future’.
This is particularly true when it comes to choosing habits that will help your body function optimally and better encourage longevity, and one of the most important habits you can form is to regularly visit your water cooler to ensure your body remains properly hydrated on a daily basis. While drinking coffee, tea and soft drinks through the day definitely helps; drinking water remains the healthiest way to ensure you remain adequately hydrated. To help form that habit, here are a few simple, but effective ways to keep drinking water top-of-mind.
Make a point of drinking a glass of water at regular intervals throughout your day – when you wake up, when you brush your teeth, with each meal and then again before bedtime. And if drinking water on its own doesn’t appeal to you, try adding natural flavors like sliced strawberries or lemon – even freshly chopped fruit frozen in ice cube trays and then added to your water makes for a more enticing drink.
Keep a water bottle on hand and make regular trips to your office water cooler to replenish it and try to remember to sip on the bottle throughout the work day – studies show that sipping water throughout the day is more beneficial than trying to gulp down a few glasses all in one go. And if you’re at the gym be sure to do the same and be particularly mindful of taking regular sips to replenish the water you lose while exercising.
Sometimes the best way to enforce a new habit is to schedule reminders and then track your progress, so it might be a good idea to set up regular alerts on your phone or computer to prompt you to get up and walk over to the water cooler so that you drink that next glass of water. And at the end of the day be sure to review how much water you’ve consumed so that you know what your target is for the next day.
In short, the best way to form any new healthy habit is to keep working at it, so here’s to repetition and trying to be the healthiest we can be.
