Most readers of this article right now would be in the middle of their summer internships or have started their jobs with various companies. In both cases, the priority would be to prove themselves. But there is one important aspect that most tend to missed out.
Irrespective of whether the job is in an office or on the field, people overlook the importance of staying adequately hydrated. In simple terms, drinking enough water.
How much?
The truth is that there is no single, universal guideline for how much water should be consumed. Therefore, a person usually tends to drink water only when they are thirsty. In many cases, it isn’t enough, especially if a person is working in an air-conditioned office.
In a temperature-controlled environment, a person should drink approximately two litres of water a day. If they are engaged in a field assignment, the quantity should go up significantly, as sweating drains water from our bodies. This holds true even in places which have dry heat, where sweating is not very obvious.
There are many sites that can help you calculate the optimum quantity of water required to be consumed daily, based on your gender, age, work and other lifestyle habits. I would suggest you look up one such site and get an idea with regard to how much water you should drink in a day.
Keeping a track
Now comes the hard part — of ensuring that you drink this quantity daily. You need to consciously and consistently track the amount of water you are drinking. If done regularly, this can become a habit for life.
One simple way of ensuring that you drink sufficient H2O is by owning two one-litre bottles. Keep one at home and carry one to work. Make it a point to consume water from the bottle at home twice a day — once in the morning before leaving for work. In fact, having half a bottle the first thing in the morning on an empty stomach is considered to be extremely healthy.
The second round should be in the evening after returning from work. This itself will take care of the minimum level of hydration required. The bottle you carry to work should be fully consumed at least once or more, depending on whether you have a desk or a field job. Remember to refill the bottle wherever possible and ideally, with room temperature water.
Carrying around your own bottles, apart from helping you stay hydrated, is also eco-friendly — you do your bit for the environment by minimising the usage of PET bottles.
A word of caution
Excessive hydration is also not a good thing and can lead to severe health issues. This is why you should definitely check the optimum quantity of water you need to drink daily and stick to that level of consumption. Neither more nor less is good.