Water is vital for life, but it's totally normal to get bored of it! Find out how to stay hydrated when you want something more flavorful.
February 2023. This article is independently written by Shelby Golding. All opinions given are hers. Shelby has been certified as a personal trainer and nutritional specialist since 2007. In 2008, she found her passion for writing about these topics and hasn't looked back.
Drinking enough water every day is essential for your health. And if you don't drink enough water, you risk dehydration, which can cause mood changes, brain fog, constipation, overheating, and kidney stones. And you probably need to drink more than you think to stay adequately hydrated.
How Much Water Do You Need?
Water helps your body maintain a normal temperature, get rid of waste products, and lubricate your joints. And if you deal with chronic joint pain, that last one's a bonus!
In addition to avoiding sugar-sweetened beverages, which can work against your hydration, you need to make sure you drink enough water. And that means more than the old eight 8-ounce glasses per day rule.
- Men: 15.5 cups (3.7 liters or 0.9 gallons)
- Women: 11.5 cups (2.7 liters or 0.7 gallons)
Unless you've already been focusing on your hydration, that probably seems like a lot of water. But the good news is that it doesn't all have to come from plain water.
Bored of Water? 3 Ways to Make Hydration Fun
So, you want to drink enough water to keep your body healthy, but you're less than excited about drinking the 11.5 or 15.5 cups per day we recommended above? That's fine! Here are some ways to make your water fun without making it unhealthy.
1. Flavor Water with Fruits and Veggies
Instead of drinking sweetened beverages, energy drinks, or vitamin water, flavor your water with fresh fruit.
Here are some fruits that work well for this:
Here are some fruits that work well for this:
- Oranges
- Lemons
- Limes
- Cucumbers
- Raspberries
- Blueberries
- Blackberries
- Fresh mint (chocolate mint is particularly tasty!)
We've all had water with a slice or two of lemon that hardly tastes any different, but there's a secret to bringing the flavor out. It works best with a pitcher made specifically for infusing water, as it'll have an infusion rod or screen.
Add water to a pitcher, and then put your chosen fruits and veggies in a separate bowl. Then use a spoon or smaller bowl to muddle the fresh produce lightly, bringing out its juices and natural flavor. Finally, add the contents of your bowl to the infusion rod in your pitcher or directly to your water and enjoy.
2. Make Herbal Tea
Herbal teas like rose, chamomile, and hibiscus work well for hydration because they're caffeine-free. Caffeinated teas like green, white, black, or rooibos won't work quite as well since caffeine is a diuretic and makes your tea less hydrating.
You can drink your tea hot if you'd like a cozy, comforting cup in your hand or make a large pitcher of it to keep in the refrigerator. This method works well as sun tea – which is made by placing tea bags in a clear container and leaving it in the sun – but you can also use warm or hot water that you allow steeping for a couple of hours.
3. Drink Sparkling Water
Carbonated water, aka sparkling water, is just as hydrating as regular water. And sometimes, the fizz is just what you need to find your hydration more palatable!
You can buy sparkling water, but disposable plastic bottle waste kills approximately 1.1. million marine creatures every year. And since research has found that less than 5% of the plastic recycling facilities receive is recycled, hydrating with plastic bottles of sparkling water isn't the best option.
Instead, consider investing in a sparkling water maker if you find that this is what you need to stay hydrated. They're often available for under $50 online, and this will save you money in the long run. The average bottle of sparkling water costs about $0.80 cents, so your carbonated water maker will pay for itself in just over 60 glasses or less than six days of hydration.
You can add fruits, vegetables, or herbs like mint to sparkling water for even more flavor. Or you can mix it with tea, using half tea and half carbonated water.
Stay Hydrated and Healthy
And if you have joint pain, don't forget that water can help ease your symptoms. Cushioned, lubricated joints are always a good thing.
The Kailo Pain Patch can also help with joint pain, especially if you have aches that persist no matter how much water you drink. The Kailo patch is designed to relieve pain in seconds, allowing you to say goodbye to over-the-counter painkillers. In a recent participated clinical study, 97% of participants reported that they preferred the Kailo Pain Patch over oral medication.
