How Much Water Should I Drink? (and an app-Waterminder)

Most Americans don’t eat enough fiber. And most Americans don’t drink enough water. Staying hydrated regulates body temperature, helps maintain body weight, prevents infections, and keeps organs functioning properly. Being well-hydrated also improves sleep quality, cognition, and mood.

Experts recommend drinking about eleven cups (88 oz) of water per day for women and sixteen cups (128 oz) for men. Water in fruits and vegetables count in these amounts, as do other liquids.

Summers in North Carolina are hot. It is difficult to stay well hydrated in hot/humid climates, especially if you spend a significant amount of time outdoors.

The Oura Ring is a powerful tool to track essential wellness metrics such as quality of sleep and recovery from exercise. I wondered if some of my miserable nights of sleep and failure to recover from exercise were due to a lack of adequate hydration. To investigate this, I needed a way to track what I drink. I went looking for an easy-to-use app to help me quantify how much liquid I consume. I found Waterminder.

At first, I thought an app to record how much water I drink was silly. But after using the app for a while, I can definitively say it has changed my behavior. Not only is it easy to capture what I drink during the day, but it also reminds me when it's time to drink. I drink more because of the notifications. Although most of my fluid intake is water, I also consume a significant amount of green tea and coffee. Waterminder tracks each type of fluid separately. I find this handy as I am particularly interested in monitoring the amount of green tea and Hibiscus Tea I consume.

If you don't want to use an app, you can always follow your urine color. But if you're like me, and want more objective data on your fluid consumption, Waterminder is the way to go.