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Health

Not Drinking Enough Water? Just $5 Will Help You Stay Hydrated All Day Long

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Nothing quenches thirst like good old water, but a lot of us wait until we’re totally parched or even dehydrated before we turn to H2O. I’m one of those people. It’s hard to motivate to drink something that, well, doesn’t taste like anything, unless I’m really thirsty. But I know my health will suffer if I don’t sip regularly, so I tried the Waterminder app. If you also feel like you need a little extra nudge to hydrate, it might just be your solution — it worked for me! 

Waterminder is a $5 app available on iPhone and Android that lets you track your daily water intake, reminds you to drink water through custom notifications, and allows you to check your progress as time goes on. While the price may raise some eyebrows, thousands of positive ratings from users show the app has truly transformed many folks’ health — and thus is a small price to pay in the long run. While I used to refuse paying for most apps, I believe this crucial part of self care was worth it.

Here’s how it works: You set up a profile for yourself with your name, gender, weight, activity level, and the typical weather around your local area. The app will then give you a personalized estimate of how much water you should drink each day. Before long, you’ll be greeted with a fun cartoon silhouette that you can “fill” with beverages throughout the day by simply clicking on a plus sign below it and entering drinks you’ve consumed, along with the size of the cups or bottles. P.S. Coffee, tea, alcohol, and even soup are listed as options so you can track your intake of those drinks as well.

The app comes prepared with about seven notifications scheduled throughout the day, but you can customize the times if you’d like or opt out of them altogether. I’d strongly suggest keeping them, though. The notifications are so annoyingly effective that I’m convinced they’re the main reason why this app works so well. It’s hard to ignore constant alerts on your phone saying, “Time for a break with a cup of water!” or “Have some water to stay hydrated!” This is doubly true if your phone’s volume is on and you pick an attention-grabbing sound to go with your notification.

But while at first I grumbled about Waterminder getting on my nerves (who did this app think it was, my schoolteacher?), it didn’t take me long to start listening to it. In the first few days, I was not only reaching my personal goal of 71 ounces per day, but exceeding it — even when I didn’t feel like I was really thirsty! After one week, I felt refreshed, rejuvenated, and much more energized than I had before I started. Plus, my dry skin was noticeably softer.

As if that wasn’t satisfying enough, the app also comes with prizes in the form of virtual “badges” you earn when you meet certain milestone, such as drinking your goal amount of water in one day, consistently meeting your goal for a whole week, and overachieving your goal. There’s even a badge for completing a whole barrel of water, though fortunately not all in one day!

Who doesn’t love to win a game — especially when clear skin and more energy the prize! 

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