One small thing can add years to your life, experts say

Off-Balance-Sheet

What are you focusing on in the new year to improve your health? Regular exercise, of course, is a proven winner, as is eating plant-based meals. Getting more high-quality sleep, reducing stress, limiting alcohol and connecting with other people in meaningful ways are also key ways to boost well-being.

However, there is one behavior change often overlooked when we think about improving our health in the new year: hydration. Water is the elixir of life, but few people make drinking enough a priority.

Yet it’s so easy — there are no gyms to join, no meals to prepare, no need to scour the internet for a tasty mocktail — and experts say water’s benefits are almost too numerous to mention. Drinking plenty of water can improve blood pressure, diabetes, joint, gut and kidney health as well as ease migraines and boost the glow of your skin, among other benefits.

“Staying optimally hydrated is a relatively easy lifestyle modification with potentially significant benefit: a longer disease-free life,” said Natalia Dmitrieva, a research scientist in the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.

Just one small thing

How can you add this one small thing to your daily life? Attach drinking a full glass of water to other key routines you do without thinking.

Coffee or tea drinker? While you wait for your coffee to perk or your tea kettle to whistle, fill a glass with water (add ice if you prefer, like me) and drink it down while you wait.

Taking the dog for a walk? Fill a stainless steel or ceramic water bottle (to avoid plastics of course) and drink it down before you return.

Getting up to stretch? Grab a glass of water and drink it before you sit back down.

Heating up a lunch? Drink a full glass of water during the time it takes your food to get hot.

Experts on habit formation say that if you attach a new habit to an old one — called habit stacking — it’s easier to remember to accomplish the new task. And downing a refreshing glass of water while you wait is a healthy way to multitask.

You may not realize you’re dehydrated

Statistics show Americans often fail to drink enough water, said Dmitrieva, who has studied the link between hydration and aging.

Many experts suggest women drink about eight to 10 cups of water daily and men consume 10 to 12 cups, she said. “However, more than 50% of Americans do not meet these recommended levels,” Dmitrieva said via email.

“One reason for this shortfall is that most people do not consciously consider how much water they need to drink and are often unaware of these recommendations.”
By Sandee LaMotte, CNN

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