Water we made of?

Awake from sleep and the air is dry. A night of restful respiration has exited hydration with every breath. Sip deep of ice-filled water and we are restored. 

When we think about who we are as a person, we naturally default to ego-centric view – who am I psychologically, spiritually, cosmically? But at our very essence, we are more than half comprised of a single substance. Chunks of 2 hydrogen and 1 oxygen. Water!

Adequate hydration is an essential part of who we are and critical to our physical and mental performance. Our body has evolved to function within a range of biological wetness that when we err outside of, in times of dehydration, our tissues struggle. Headache. Dry skin. That nagging foot cramp. Feels bad.

Equally as important but largely unappreciated is the value of salt in maintaining our hydration.  Sodium, potassium, magnesium, chloride, phosphorus, calcium, bicarbonate. These ions like charged deities float through us, providing balance and equilibrium to our heterogeneously hydrated state. You cannot hydrate on water alone, it must be in context of adequate electrolytes.

Not everyone enjoys drinking water, whether it is the taste, texture, or hassle of carrying it around. I was recently asked by a friend with such aqueous aversion how to better embrace the hydrated lifestyle. I offer 3 tips:

Find a water bottle that suits you. Hydration is an active act throughout the day and so is necessary to have ready access to a sip. Finding the right water bottle is personal and must fit to your liking and whim. What is the right size, mouthpiece, color, and style. It may take trial and error, but the water vessel of your dreams is out there should you seek it.

Know yourself. I do not strictly subscribe to a specific volume of water per day (although such a protocol may help some). It is more beneficial to be attuned to your body, feeling for what it needs. The knowledge to recognize our thirst so that we can quench it.

Establish a new relationship with hydration. Knowing that we should drink water is often an insufficient motivator and positions hydration as a scolding authoritarian, bossing us around, rather than the life friend it is. Recognizing the importance of water and salt in making us, it becomes natural to want to take a swig.

I freaking love hydration and hope you do too.

 - Jeremy