Should you drink a glass of water when you wake up?

Water makes up about 60% of our body weight and is "vital to our body's ability to function and thrive." Specifically:

- Helps transport nutrients: Water allows blood to circulate, transporting nutrients to cells and removing waste from them.

- Regulating body temperature: Due to its ability to generate heat, water can help limit changes in body temperature in both hot and cold environments.

- Lubricates joints: Water helps lubricate joints and is an essential component of body fluids, including saliva, mucus in the stomach, intestines, respiratory system and urinary system.

Your body loses water every day, every hour through sweat, breathing, urine and bowel movements, so not drinking enough water every day can cause dehydration, leading to negative health effects.

1. Health benefits of the habit of drinking a glass of water when waking up

Here are the benefits of drinking water in the morning as soon as you wake up, according to Business Insider:

- Drinking water immediately after waking up helps rehydrate the body

The recommended quality nightly sleep is 6 - 8 hours in adults and during this time - of course - you do not drink water. Therefore, drinking a glass of water when waking up is one of the quick ways to rehydrate the body.

While many people enjoy a morning coffee fix due to the caffeine boost, coffee is also a major cause of dehydration. Water is a safe alternative for everyone.

- Increase alertness level

One of the biggest signs of fatigue and low energy is dehydration. According to Healthline, mild dehydration can affect alertness, concentration, short-term memory, and physical performance. Because water helps regulate body temperature and brain function, it is also closely related to mood balance and alertness.

- Provides energy for the brain

When it comes to daily performance, drinking enough water is important. Because 73% of the brain is water and drinking enough water helps maintain optimal brain activity. Of course, this process happens all day, but drinking a glass of water when you wake up is a "warm-up" step for you to have an effective working day.

- Supports fight against disease

When you sleep, your body begins the process of "healing" and restoring itself. During this time, your immune system works hard to remove toxins from your body. By drinking enough water, you can speed up the process of removing these toxins.

Furthermore, in addition to the brain, most other important parts of the body such as the heart, kidneys and lungs are made of water, so to put it simply, staying hydrated from the moment you wake up is one of the guarantees to keep your body healthy. healthy.

- Starts metabolism

The essential carbohydrates and proteins you consume every day are metabolized and transported through your body through water. When we don't get enough water, we can mistake thirst for hunger, which causes us to eat more.

This shows that drinking a glass of water when you wake up will help boost your metabolism more effectively and - indirectly - it can support your weight loss diet.

- Reduce heartburn

According to Medicine, drinking a glass of water when you wake up can help dilute stomach acid and aid in food digestion, thereby helping to reduce the feeling of heartburn.

2. Misunderstandings about the effects of drinking water when you wake up

Of course drinking water is good for your health, but there are some common misconceptions about the effects of this habit:

- Drinking a glass of water when waking up helps increase the feeling of fullness and reduce calorie intake during the day

According to Healthline, there's actually some evidence that drinking more water can help reduce daily calorie intake by increasing feelings of fullness, but this effect doesn't just apply to the morning.

Specifically, there have been conflicting research results that drinking water before breakfast reduces calorie intake at the next meal by 13%, but similar results were found in other research, where people engage in drinking water 30 minutes before lunch but only occurs in older adults.

This suggests that, although drinking water before meals may not significantly reduce daily calorie intake in young adults, and that calorie intake requires additional careful management, drinking water upon waking still helps keep the body hydrated.

- Drinking water in the morning helps you lose weight better than drinking water at other times.

The relationship between drinking water and weight loss is partly explained by the thermogenic effect of water when you drink a glass of cold water and the energy your body produces to warm that water in your digestive tract after you drink it.

And this thermogenic effect is said to be able to increase the body's metabolic rate by up to 24 - 30% for adults and lasts about 60 minutes.

Another study also determined that increasing daily water intake by 1.5 liters can help burn 48 more calories and more than 17,000 calories (about 2.5 kg of fat) over 1 year.

But all the effects in this study are not limited to drinking water in the morning.

3. Who should not drink a lot of water in the morning when waking up?

Some health conditions require limiting drinking a lot of water in the morning when waking up, including:

- People with spleen and stomach problems

Some people may experience facial swelling after waking up in the morning. According to Oriental medicine, it is possible that poor water metabolism and moisture in the spleen and stomach lead to this condition. Therefore, this group of people should not drink a lot of water as soon as they wake up.

Other symptoms that warn of poor spleen and stomach function include loss of appetite, easy vomiting, hiccups, frequent bloating, and diarrhea.

- People with weak kidneys

The kidneys are important organs that help regulate and maintain fluid balance in the body. Once the kidneys are weak, kidney function is impaired, so managing water intake is necessary. When not controlled well, drinking more water can easily cause edema and poor urination.

Overall, drinking water in the morning can have many health benefits, but drinking enough water throughout the day is equally important. In other words, when you drink water is not as important as the amount of fluid you take in during the day. Drinking enough water will help your body stay healthy, prevent disease and avoid health risks related to dehydration.