Drink water through the day
Keep a water bottle within reach and sip through the day instead of waiting until you are thirsty.
- How often
- Daily
- Time
- All day
- Recommended for
- 47 factors
How to do it
- For most healthy people, about 4 to 6 cups of plain water a day is a reasonable baseline. Other drinks and water-rich foods count toward your total fluids.
- Carry a reusable bottle and refill it at set points, such as each meal or each break.
- Make water your default drink at meals and when eating out. Add lemon, lime, cucumber or berries if plain water is a hard sell.
- Drink more when it is hot or when you are sweating from work or exercise.
- Watch for dark yellow urine, which suggests you need more.
Why it helps
Water carries nutrients, cushions joints, regulates body temperature and keeps your kidneys flushing waste. Busy shifts, air-conditioned offices and long drives make it easy to go hours without drinking. Older adults may not feel thirsty even when they need fluids.
Be careful
More is not always better. If you have heart, kidney, liver or thyroid disease, or take medicines that make you retain water (some pain relievers and antidepressants), ask your doctor how much you should drink.
Recommended for
Airline pilot
Long seated duty days across time zones and through the night.
placeAlabama
Long, humid summers, strong sun, and ticks most of the year.
placeArizona
Extreme desert heat, intense sun and a lung infection that lives in the dust.
placeArkansas
Tick country with humid summers and a strong southern sun.
occupationBarista
Tamping, pouring and steaming, hundreds of drinks a shift.
placeCalifornia
Wildfire smoke, valley fever dust, inland heat and year-round sun.
occupationCall center agent
Headset on, calls back to back, timed and monitored.
placeColorado
Thin air, stronger sun, high-radon soil and summer smoke.
occupationContent creator
Streaming, editing and gaming for hours, often late into the night.
placeDistrict of Columbia
Urban heat, summer ozone and ticks even inside the city.
habitDrinking alcohol
Social, relaxing, and harder on your body than it feels at the time.
habitEating out often
Restaurants, takeout and delivery for most meals of the week.
occupationFirefighter
Extreme heat, heavy gear, smoke, sleepless shifts and traumatic calls.
occupationFlight attendant
On your feet in a moving cabin, across time zones, lifting bags overhead.
placeFlorida
Heat and humidity most of the year, high sun, and mold after storms.
habitFrequent flying
Cramped seats, dry cabin air and crossed time zones, again and again.
hobbyGardening
Kneeling, digging, lifting and pulling weeds for hours in the sun.
placeGeorgia
Humid heat, strong sun, southern ticks and radon around Atlanta.
habitHigh caffeine intake
Coffee, energy drinks or pre-workout, from first thing until late in the day.
hobbyHiking
Miles of uneven ground, steep descents and long days outdoors.
habitIntermittent fasting
Eating only in a set window, or skipping food on certain days.
placeKansas
High-radon soil, hard summer heat and ticks in the grass.
habitKeto or low-carb diet
Cutting bread, rice, sugar and often fruit to burn fat instead.
occupationLine cook
Heat, knives, hot oil and a ticket rail that never empties.
placeLouisiana
Gulf humidity, a long mosquito season and mold after floods.
placeMississippi
Long, humid summers, southern ticks and a strong Gulf sun.
placeMissouri
Tick hot spot of the Midwest, with hot summers and radon near Kansas City.
occupationMusician
Hours of practice, loud stages, late nights and an instrument to hold.
placeNevada
Desert heat, high-elevation sun, and a soil fungus kicked up by dust.
placeNew Mexico
Thin air, intense sun, and well water that deserves a test.
habitNight shift work
Awake when your body expects to sleep, asleep when the world is loud.
placeNorth Carolina
Humid summers, spotted fever ticks, and radon in the mountains.
occupationNurse
Twelve-hour shifts on your feet, lifting, turning and rarely sitting down.
placeOklahoma
Long hot summers and ticks that can spread spotted fever and alpha-gal.
occupationPhysician
Long, high-stakes days with little time to eat, move or sleep.
occupationRestaurant server
Miles on your feet, heavy trays and a dining room to keep happy.
occupationRideshare and delivery driver
In and out of the car all day, on a clock, chasing the next order.
hobbyRunning
Thousands of footstrikes a week, mostly through your shins, knees and feet.
placeSouth Carolina
Steamy summers, strong southern sun, and lone star ticks.
occupationStay-at-home parent
Lifting, carrying and caring around the clock, with little time for yourself.
occupationTeacher
Talking all day, on your feet, with a classroom of needs to manage.
placeTennessee
Spotted fever ticks, humid heat, and radon in Middle and East Tennessee.
placeTexas
Long, dangerous summer heat, strong sun, and mosquito season.
occupationTruck driver
Long hours behind the wheel, irregular sleep and food from truck stops.
placeUtah
High elevation, intense sun on snow, and winter inversions.
occupationWarehouse worker
Picking, packing and lifting at speed, miles of walking a shift.
placeWyoming
High, windy, sun-blasted country with radon under nearly every county.