While the old saying about drinking “eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily” has proven to be just that--an old saying--staying hydrated is just as important as ever. Hydration has biological benefits, and while eight glasses may not be necessary, several glasses are--depending on your height, weight, age, and exercise habits.

As dispensers of hydration wisdom, we’ve come up with five benefits of hydration that are easily forgotten. In fact, you may never have heard of some of these benefits of hydration, whether you’re a regular consumer of Liquid I.V. or not. The good news is, while getting dehydrated is common, staying hydrated is an easy and effective lifestyle change that can work wonders on your overall health.

Unexpected Benefits of Hydration: Daily Mood Boost

Studies show that drinking water shortly after waking up can affect your mood for the better all day long. As you sleep, respiration (your normal breathing) causes water loss. As a result, you wake up slightly dehydrated. Two large glasses of water (or one serving of Liquid I.V.) taken within the first half hour of waking up can rehydrate you after a long night of losing fluids.

If it helps you to drink water in the morning, think of yourself as waking up as a sponge. By drinking that water, you are getting your body back to its proper sponge state: a bit more flexible, and ready to clean up whatever messes the day might bring to you.

The benefits of hydration in the morning last all day, and if you tend toward depression or anxiety throughout your workday, this can be a simple and effective hack to improving your mood in a natural way.

Unexpected Benefits of Hydration: Cognition Co-Pilot

Cognition is a 50-dollar word for “thinking.” Proper hydration improves the ability to think well. The simplified physiological basis for this is: when your cells don’t have enough water, they don’t communicate as well. Long story short, our brain cells need to exchange data in order for us to be able to think clearly, and cellular dehydration makes these cells less efficient.

Most of us are aware that dehydration can lead to fatigue, but before feeling fully exhausted, the ability to think may slip a bit. You can find yourself not quite as engaged intellectually as you should be when your fluids are low. Dosing up with some Liquid I.V. can be the perfect way to combat mid-afternoon dehydration, a major cause of brain fog.

Unexpected Benefits of Hydration: Healthy Eating Habits

It’s no secret that modern foods, often processed to improve shelf life, lack the fluids that whole foods (fruits, vegetables, unprocessed meats) provide. To put it bluntly, a bag of chips, while delicious, will not provide fluids like an apple will. Naturally, foods that hydrate better are also more filling.

Forgetting to drink water (or Liquid I.V.) and eating processed foods makes dehydration likely and also causes hunger—your body’s way of telling you to get more fluids. Despite what our bodies may be telling us, many Americans get through the day with no breakfast, coffee at 10, a bag of chips, a dash to the drinking fountain at lunch, and burger and fries at 2pm. This kind of diet is dehydrating, and tends to cause overeating of—you guessed it—more processed foods. With this type of diet, overeating is only natural come dinnertime. This makes hydrating throughout the day with water and natural, nutrient-rich foods all the more important. If you do have a day full of processed foods (we’ve all been there), try balancing it out with some Liquid I.V., which can help to balance out your electrolyte levels and reestablish your hydration equilibrium.

Unexpected Benefits of Hydration: Energy Elevator

If you feel fatigued, sufficient hydration is one of the first factors to consider. Busy people especially tend to forget to eat and drink throughout the day, which can lead to early exhaustion and burn out. The busy-bodies of the world tend to chalk up their fatigue to their schedules and responsibilities, when often one of the main culprits is just a lack of fluids.

One of the first signs of dehydration is fatigue. One of the first benefits of hydration is improved energy (followed by improved mood and cognition).

Needless to say, energy is closely correlated with mood, and when you’re fatigued, your mood is likely to dip as well. Liquid I.V.’s scientifically proven formula is a quick way to get hydrated, which can help with the lethargy and fatigue that may strike at any point. Consider keeping some packets in your desk at work, or in your glove box. You never know when they might come in handy!  

Unexpected Benefits of Hydration: Headache Cure

Despite how common they are and how many high-tech scanning devices medical science has created, headaches remain something of a medical mystery. Doctors are aware, however, of the usual causes, such as sinus problems and tension, and they list improper hydration right near the top.

A headache that results from dehydration isn’t always obvious, but if this symptom arises, it means your level of dehydration probably needs more immediate attention. The good news is, a dehydration headache is easy to fix if you are in the vicinity of a beverage, and an electrolyte powder like Liquid I.V. can be one of the best (and fastest) ways to hydrate.

Before popping pain meds, try drinking a large glass (or two) of water. Especially early in the day, more water can work wonders and may even prevent a headache later on. Try adding some Liquid I.V. for an added hydration boost!

Have any benefits of hydration of your own to add? Let us know if the comments below!