Women Campus | Hello beautiful!: 8 Glasses a Day? The Real Deal on Water Part-2

It helps you think

Just about 90 percent of the brain is made up of water, so you can see why staying hydrated is essential to making your brain function correctly. Even being slightly dehydrated means that your brain cells can't function well and their firing rate slows down. This means that you can't process information as quickly, and it becomes more difficult to dig things up from your memory. "Cognitive function has been shown to decrease by being under-hydrated by just one 8 oz cup of water," Bailey says.

"I don't know if I can say that drinking water makes me smarter, but I definitely feel like my head is more clear when I'm hydrated and nine times out of ten, when I have a headache, it's because I'm dehydrated," says Abbey, a senior at the University of Massachusetts.

Next time you have a big test to take, make sure to hydrate yourself enough to score an A.

It makes your skin glow

Have you ever looked in the mirror to see that your skin looked flakey and pale? When you don't sip on enough water, your skin actually can be affected, and no amount of moisturizer can fix it. Being dehydrated affects all your cells, including skin cells, so you can see the dryness on the surface of your skin. Water nourishes your skin and plumps it up, according to WebMD, and it leaves your face clear and smooth. And when it comes to acne and blemishes, drinking more water will detoxify your skin and thus get rid of most of the impurities.

"Anytime I start breaking out, I always wash my face twice a day and try to drink more water," says Jeanine, a senior at the University of Michigan. "It takes a little while, but I feel like it cleans out my skin."

While you won't see results over night, drinking enough water for even a week will make your skin look much healthier.

Is eight glasses a day accurate?

So the million dollar question is this: how much water should we actually be drinking to ensure that we're hydrated enough to get all the benefits of water? While the eight glasses a day is accurate for some, it's not a blanket statement that applies to everyone. "Women should drink a minimum of one ounce of water per two pounds of body weight," Bailey says. "In other words, for each 50 pounds of body weight, you should drink three 8-oz. glasses of water." So if you only weigh around 100 lb., you only need six 8-oz. glasses of water each day. But if you're closer to 150 lb., you should shoot for nine.

When it comes to exercising, drinking alcohol, and drinking caffeine, it's important to up your water intake. Since all three dehydrate you, in order to keep your body healthy, Ely suggests drinking an extra glass of water for every caffeinated or alcoholic beverage you drink. For every 30 minutes of exercise, replenish your body with one extra glass of water.

What if I don't like water?

Many girls don't like the taste of water, and struggle to get it down because it's so plain. If that's the case, you can flavor your H2O with a squeeze of lemon or orange, or purchase some low-calorie Crystal Light packets to spice up your drink. Fruit juices, tea, coffee and other beverages still count toward your total water consumption, but remember, coffee makes you even more thirsty, so it probably is best to try the other options, instead.

You can get some of your water from foods, as well, and the average person consumes 20 percent of their daily-required water from food. Fruits and vegetables are great food sources of water, as are soups, yogurt, oatmeal, and milk. In fact, lettuce is 95 percent water, orange juice is 88 percent water, and yogurt is 85 percent water, so just by snacking on these foods, you're giving your body more water without even realizing it.

How can I drink more water?

So you want to get into a habit of drinking more water? Follow our tips for extra sips!

Purchase a large water bottle (preferably about how many ounces you are supposed to drink per day) and carry it with you to school, work, your internship, to the gym, and so on. Make sure you finish drinking the water by the time you go to sleep.
Drink from a straw – you tend to consume more water this way.
Drink a glass of water before every meal.
In between drinks at the bar, ask for a cup of ice water.
Make it a point to drink a glass of water first thing in the morning.
Keep a bottle or cup of water next to your bed, and drink it if you wake up in the middle of the night.
Order a glass of water along with your drink at a restaurant.
Incorporate a serving of fruits and vegetables into every meal to consume more water.
Drink a glass of water in between each class.
Write down how much water you drink each day so you can make a point to add more if you need to.

There you have it, collegiettesÔ! Now run to the nearest grocery store and stock up on the liquid goodness (or just head to the tap). You'll thank us when your skin is glowing, your weight is in check, you ace your test…and you have no hangover come morning.

Sources:

Wendy Bailey, digestive health expert at Probiotics.com

Leanne Ely, a nutritionist and author of Saving Dinner, a New York Times Best Selling Series.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthy-water-9/slideshow-water-health

http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/wonders-of-water?page=3

College girls around the country