La Jolla Senior Care News

How Important is Getting Enough Water Really?

Elder Care Coronado CA

One thing that is emphasized when it comes to health throughout the lifespan is getting enough water. In fact, making sure that your parents are properly hydrated is likely something that you have been advised to do repeatedly since starting your elder care journey with them. You have heard about the importance of water and try a variety of techniques for making sure that your parents drink enough. How important, though, is getting enough water really for your seniors’, and your, ongoing health and wellbeing? By understanding the importance of water and how much each person should be drinking on a daily basis, you can make sure that keeping your seniors properly hydrated is an effective effort in your elder care journey.

Everyone has heard the old advice that everyone should drink at least eight glasses of water a day to stay healthy. While this sounds like a good guideline, this blanket statement does not necessarily apply to all people. The human body is made up of approximately 60 percent water and virtually all functions require water, but more than three-quarters of the adult population suffers from dehydration as a chronic part of their lives. Immediately adding downing eight glasses of water a day, however, is not necessarily how to help your parents if they are part of this large percentage.

The amount of water necessary for ongoing health varies from person to person, influenced by a variety of factors including age, sex, amount of exercise, temperature, humidity, and digestive health. This means that the amount of water that your father needs on a daily basis is going to be different from the amount that your mother needs. According to The Institute of Medicine, a basic guideline for average men living in a temperate climate is three liters of water each day. The same guidelines put the recommended daily intake for women at just over two liters.

Making sure that your loved ones are properly hydrated means not just following guidelines, but recognizing their own signs of dehydration and modifying their intake to ensure they stay healthy and properly hydrated at all times. Signs of dehydration include fatigue, muscle pain, headache, dry skin, and thirst signals. By the time your parents feel thirsty, their bodies are already dehydrated.

Some of the benefits of making sure that your aging loved ones stay properly hydrated include:

  • Proper bodily function. Getting enough water ensures that your body is able to perform all of its daily functions, such as eliminating waste, metabolizing food for energy, and healing effectively. Water also supports the essential function of sweating, which flushes out waste and keeps the body cool.
  • Prevent headaches. Headaches are a common sign of dehydration, but even those headaches not caused by dehydration can be helped with drinking more water. According to hydration studies, drinking water reduces pain perception and shortens the time that pain is experienced.
  • Help with weight loss. If your parents are trying to lose weight, or you want to make it easier for them to maintain a healthy weight, drinking more water can be a fantastic ally. Often when you feel like you are hungry, you are actually thirsty, so drinking before eating can calm those pangs without adding unneeded calories. Drinking a glass of water before eating also helps to fill you up so that you do not overindulge at mealtimes.
  • Ease joint pain. Your joints need plenty of fluid to move comfortably and stay healthy. If your body does not get enough fluid, it will draw what it needs away from the joints, increasing strain on the joints and joint pain. Drinking plenty of water supports the joints and ensures there is plenty of fluid around them to help them move easily.

La Jolla Nurses Homecare can help your aging parents remain in their own homes, call 858-454-9339. We are a home care agency providing quality and affordable senior care in La Costa, CA, and the surrounding communities."]” data-sheets-userformat=”[null,null,767,[null,0],[null,2,10667209],[null,[[null,2,0,null,null,[null,2,0]],[null,0,0,3],[null,1,0,null,1]]],[null,[[null,2,0,null,null,[null,2,0]],[null,0,0,3],[null,1,0,null,1]]],[null,[[null,2,0,null,null,[null,2,0]],[null,0,0,3],[null,1,0,null,1]]],[null,[[null,2,0,null,null,[null,2,0]],[null,0,0,3],[null,1,0,null,1]]],2,2,null,0]”>For more information about how the caregivers at La Jolla Nurses Homecare can help your aging parents remain in their own homes, call 858-454-9339. We are a home care agency providing quality and affordable elder care in Coronado, CA, and the surrounding communities.

Brittnei Salerno

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