Each year on June 23^rd the U.S. celebrates National Hydration Day, because it is an important part of our daily habits. Although it may seem minimal if you seem to forget to drink water or hydrate properly, it can lead to serious health implications.

National Hydration Day was formed in honor of a late football coach named Victor Hawkins who was the creator of a mouthguard that hydrated players, in order to keep his players hydrated on the field. The company known as SafeTGard that now sells his invention, started the National Hydration Day to continue on his legacy and keep others healthy and hydrated.

With summer approaching, it is crucial that you encourage both yourself and your children to drink plenty of water. Regardless of your reason for engaging in activity or being out in the sun, it is extremely important that you are keeping yourself hydrated. Regardless of whether you are playing sports, just stepping outside to get fresh air, or even soaking up the sun, drinking enough water is a huge part in deterring dehydration, heat stroke and other harmful issues. Now, let’s look at reasons to increase hydration and ways to do so!

Why Should We Hydrate?

It keeps us healthy!

Making sure that we are eating healthy, working out and getting good sleep are all aspects of good health. If you are dehydrated, then these actions or habits won’t make much of a difference. Drinking water allows for our bodies to have the necessary power to get through the heat of a summer day or a hard workout.

It encourages us to make other healthy choices!

You may notice that when you are properly hydrating you feel great, because when you are dehydrated you may experience headaches, exhaustion and dizziness. Forming the habit of drinking ample amounts of water can feel like an accomplishment and you may start incorporating other healthy habits.

It shows us how important it is to hydrate!

Hopefully you never have and never will experience severe dehydration, but it is important to know how easy it can happen. Nobody can avoid this if they are not hydrating, regardless of our age, fitness level or how me may feel. Our bodies depend on us to drink water and keep ourselves as healthy as we can.

How Can We Make Sure We Hydrate?

Figure out how much you need!

You can simply google how much water you need based on personal factors, also check this for your children. Figuring out how much water you need to drink daily and making it a goal can make it easier to keep up on.

Tell others to stay hydrated!

Giving your friends or family members nice reminders to also stay hydrated is a great way to keep others healthy, but it also reminds you to hydrate more. It is easy to forget to drink enough water each day, unless you have a helpful friend to remind you.

Make water fun with new flavors!

Many people don’t like to drink water due to the taste of it. You can make this a fun activity with your children and increase desire to drink water. Try infusing your water with different fruits such as strawberries, lemons, or cucumber slices.

Take this summer and make it full of fun and hydration! Teach your children how important it is that they are drinking enough water, and allow for them to learn what a difference it can make in their health.