Drinking water has many benefits for your body and can be the answer to your health problems. Unfortunately, many people don’t realize how important water really is. The human body is made up of more than 60-70% water. We can survive for more than three weeks without food, but not without water.

Research shows that as little as 1% dehydration negatively affects your mood, attention, memory and motor coordination. The fact is: When you simply feel thirsty, you’re already at a level of dehydration. So start drinking water today.

How much water should you drink every day?

Drinking ONE GALLON (16 CUPS) of water every day for a month, sounds a lot but here are some of the benefits of drinking water:

1. Your mood improves

Dehydration can affect your mood and make you feel depressed, nervous, angry, grumpy and confused. Dehydration can contribute to stress. By drinking more water you make sure your mental health benefits from it.

2. You have more energy

The first sign of dehydration is the feeling of tiredness. When the body begins to dehydrate, it means the tissues and cells are not getting enough water to make a person feel like doing anything. Enzymatic activity slows down and without water, the enzymes are unable to produce energy.

3. Drinking water helps to lose weight

Sometimes we think we are hungry when we actually are only thirsty. Our body only starts turning on all the alarms when we ignore it. For those of you trying to lose some weight: drinking water and weight loss are highly correlated.

4. No more puffiness

Dark circles, puffiness and under-eye bags are commonly caused by the retention of water. Whether it’s from a short night, an unhealthy lifestyle or salty food. Drinking more water will help flush out the waste from your system, which will reduce the puffiness and make you look younger and fresher.

5. Drinking water is good for skin

Our skin is the largest organ in our body. Regular drinking of water has plenty of benefits for the skin. It improves the appearance and health of your skin by keeping it building new cells properly.

6. Less joint pain

Water acts as a lubricant for your joints and muscles. It helps you maintain an adequate blood volume so that nutrients can move through your blood and into your joints. If you think of your joints like a sponge, imagine how much more easily two wet sponges can move against one another than two dry, hard sponges. Water also allows waste products to move out of the joints faster.

7. Detoxification of your body

Toxins are removed from the body in the form of urine and sweat. If we don’t drink water, we are unable to adequately remove toxins and it collects in our body.

8. Digestion improvement

Drinking a big glass of water right before a meal is also a great way to improve your digestion. It prepares your gastrointestinal tract for the food to come and enhances gastric secretions for a proper nutrient breakdown. The combination of high-fiber foods and water will increase the efficiency of your digestion.

9. It is easier to focus and concentrate

Scientists at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London found, that the brains of dehydrated teens had shrunk away from their skulls. When they were asked to play a problem-solving game, they performed less good as hydrated teens and used more of their brains to do so. Drinking water restores the brain to its normal size (actually the brain contains 90% water!!).

10. No more headaches

In most cases, headaches are caused by dehydration, so drinking water can prevent or alleviate migraines. Next time you have a headache, first drink some water before taking a painkiller.

Quick tips to drink more water every day:

• Always carry a bottle of water with you (use the reusable water bottles).
• You also can get water from food, not just from beverages. Eat water-rich foods like raw fruits and vegetables.
• Avoid soda and caffeinated beverages, because your body needs more water to metabolize them.
• If you have difficulties drinking enough water you can add some healthy drinks like tea and smoothies to your diet.