Water and Aspirin...PLEASE READ!

[wonkwest]

30. Excellent advice, but that middle of the night piddling . . . Also, a few additional thoughts.

I'm jussst about to approach middle age (grappling and clutching onto my 30s yet with much gusto), and the past two or three years have involved one or two trips to the bathroom almost nightly. Granted, I drink tons of water. Two glasses upon waking, and I keep liter bottles on my home and work desks and one in my car. So, I go through 6-8 liters on an average day.

Two glasses upon waking is very much a thing. If you're slow to get moving in the morning, immediately drink two glasses upon leaving bed. Within 15 minutes or so, you'll be wide awake. The dehydration from sleep greatly contributes to morning sluggishness. When I moved my gym/running routine to 6:30a five years ago, it was so, so hard to wake up adequately before having to lift weights. But once I started downing water first thing, I found I was energetic and fully conscious by the time I got to the gym.

There is a downside to guzzling however. I drink about half my daily water in the morning before lunch. If I have coffee at lunch, well . . . Let's just say when my afternoon involves bathroom trips every 15 minutes, my boss always says, "You had coffee, didn't you."

Water also makes your skin look better. There are a variety of reasons, but it's good against wrinkles, makes pores less prominent, boosts collagen, and combats blemishes.

It's also good for teeth. If you sip all day, you're washing away any residual particles and sugars from food, reduces the acidity caused by cavity-causing bacteria (protecting your enamel), provides fluoride, and promotes saliva production (your body's main defense against cavities).

So always keep water within reach and get in the habit of drinking it throughout the day!

Just beware the coffee pees. They're the worst. Especially if you're running errands. The other day, I ended up on the Grand Tour of Store Bathrooms.