Maintaining productivity and performance in the workplace is essential to driving business results. But, when projects ramp up and team members get busy, it’s easy for hydration to take a backseat.
We’re looking into the significant impact of water intake on energy levels, the risks of dehydration, and how organizations can introduce solutions that promote fluid intake effectively.
Are Americans Drinking Enough Water at Work?
Staying hydrated is key to maintaining optimal health and productivity, both at work and in our daily lives. That’s because water is essential to primary bodily functions, from regulating body temperature to promoting digestion and transporting nutrients. But, before diving into the link between water intake and energy level, it’s important to understand how much we should be drinking each day — and whether Americans actually achieve these hydration goals.
How Much Water Should You Be Drinking Every Day?
Proper hydration looks different for everyone and can change depending on factors like health, how active you are, and where you live. However, the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that the adequate daily fluid intake for the average, healthy adult is:
- About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids a day for men.
- About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women.
Are People Hitting These Water Intake Goals?
Despite the importance of staying hydrated, data from Civic Science indicates that as much as 47% of Americans are drinking far below their daily recommended amount of water. While this can be caused by a number of factors, some of the most significant barriers to adequate hydration include:
- Hectic lifestyles, leading to neglected personal needs.
- Preferences for sugary sodas, energy drinks, and other flavored beverages instead of water.
- Limited access to safe and clean drinking water.
- Lack of awareness of the full impact of dehydration on overall health and productivity.
So, What’s At Stake?
The consequences of dehydration include:
- Fatigue and low energy levels.
- Impaired cognitive function and difficulty concentrating.
- Increased anxiety and other mood changes.
- Decreased decision-making abilities and problem-solving skills.
- Reduced productivity and performance.
Exploring the Connection Between Hydration and Energy Levels
Plain water plays a crucial role in supporting the human body and its functions, but how closely related are adequate hydration and energy levels?
It’s important to understand that if you’re already consuming enough water each day, then drinking an extra glass won’t do much to boost your energy levels. This is because there aren’t any stimulants found in water, such as the caffeine that’s present in coffee and energy drinks. However, water intake will prevent negative symptoms of dehydration like fatigue and sluggishness, which is key to maintaining efficiency throughout the work day.
Looking For Symptoms of Dehydration
Healthline reports that even mild dehydration (i.e., fluid loss of 1-3%) impairs energy levels and leads to major reductions in memory and brain performance. Because inadequate fluid intake can cause wide-reaching impacts, recognizing the early signs of dehydration and boosting water consumption is crucial to stopping it in its tracks. Telltale indications of water loss include:
- Dry mouth and excessive thirst
- Dark-colored urine
- Fatigue and lethargy
- Headache and dizziness
- Dry skin and reduced elasticity
How Electrolyte Solutions Can Help
For even more powerful hydration results, water with an electrolyte solution can sufficiently combat fatigue and low motivation caused by dehydration. This ensures you replenish essential minerals like potassium, magnesium, and calcium while promoting fluid balance, energy production, and nerve and muscle function.
That’s why we created quenchWATER+, our Quench-branded, mineral-infused, and electrolyte-enhanced alkaline water. With powerful filtration technology, you can remove sediments, contaminants, and bad taste while adding back minerals and electrolytes to create delicious drinking water for optimum hydration.
Can You Drink Too Much Water?
Technically, excessive water consumption is possible, but it’s unlikely to happen. Overhydration causes sodium levels in the blood to become too diluted, and you end up with symptoms that look pretty similar to dehydration: reduced energy levels, nausea, confusion, and headaches. But unless you plan on drinking more than 20 liters of water in a day, you likely won’t do your body any harm.
Other Key Benefits of Drinking Enough Water
Consuming the right amount of water each day leads to a host of valuable benefits that support improved workplace outcomes:
- Proper hydration enables optimal brain function, boosting concentration, cognitive abilities, and mental sharpness. This helps team members stay on top of their tasks and make better decisions throughout the day.
- Workforces that drink enough water are more likely to feel positive and motivated, which can go a long way toward promoting productivity and job satisfaction.
- Sufficient water intake facilitates balance in muscles and joints to improve physical endurance, reduce the risk of cramps, and increase overall athletic performance.
- Drinking fluids helps to alleviate fatigue and headaches, keeping individuals more alert and focused at work.
- Adequate water consumption encourages the transportation of nutrients and oxygen to cells, which helps the immune system function properly and reduces the risk of absenteeism.
How Quench Transforms Workplace Hydration and Energizes Results
If your workplace is in pursuit of an elevated water supply that enables greater productivity and energy levels across your workforce, hydration solutions from Quench can help. Quench offers water-as-a-service solutions by providing filtered water through a broad array of bottleless machines to help organizations keep their employees, customers, and guests happy, healthy, and hydrated.
With a system in place for effectively removing sediments, contaminants, and bad tastes while adding minerals and electrolytes back into the water, you can ensure a clean result with the healthy essential minerals your employees need to maintain performance. What’s more, this cooler connects directly to your building’s existing water line, so your teams and customers have access to an endless supply of fresh, filtered water on demand.
Interested in providing clean, great-tasting water that empowers your valuable team members to stay productive, regardless of your area’s local water quality? Try our product finder to discover the machine your business needs or get a free quote to get started.
