Your body is composed of 70 percent water, and you must consume water daily to help keep you alive and healthy. And the problem is that many people prefer not to drink water as they prefer coffee, soda, or juices. Even though they contain water, they have other components your body does not need, especially soda and juices, as they are full of chemicals and sugar. Coffee has some excellent properties, but it does not replace water.
That is why, in honor of Water Day on March 22nd, let’s discuss the physical and spiritual reasons you need to incorporate water into your life.
Why Your Body Needs Water Daily
As mentioned, your body is 70 percent water overall. Your brain consists of 80 percent water, your lungs are 90 percent water, your blood is over 80 percent water, your muscles are around 75 percent water, and your bones are 30 percent water. That alone tells you right there that your entire body requires to be hydrated to stay functioning.
When you are thirsty, it is a sign that your body lacks the necessary hydration. You need water to keep clean, bathe, and wash your face and hands with soap to remove viruses and bacteria. Let’s discuss why you need H2O physically; later on, you will learn about the spiritual benefits of water.
Water Helps Keep Your Skin Looking Younger
When your skin is not properly hydrated, it will fade up and develop wrinkles and lines, and you may want to grab Botox to plump out your skin so you appear youthful again. However, don’t do that. Proper hydration will take care of that. Adequate hydration will help keep collagen production going, which keeps your skin youthful. Your collagen production slows as you age, so you cannot prevent aging. However, you can still produce enough to retain a youthful appearance for a long time if you drink enough water.
Water will help you sweat, as you want to sweat to remove toxins from your body. To keep sweating your toxins, you need water to replenish yourself. The toxins that your body sweats will lead to aging if you are not removing them. And if you don’t drink enough water, you will not sweat as much as you need to keep your body and skin healthy.
Water Balances Hormones
If you have a hormonal disorder, it is understandable that you will need medication or other treatments in addition to water to help balance hormones. However, if you do not have a hormonal disorder and you find that your hormones are often out of whack, you will want to ensure that you are drinking enough water. If your hormones are not harmonious, you are likely not well-hydrated.
Your hormones have various functions in your body, and when they do the job they are meant to do, the body flushes them out. However, if your body is not removing the hormones that are no longer needed, then old hormones that need to be purged become toxic in your body, which leads to fatigue, dry skin, weight gain, cancer, and poor mental health. That is how your hormones become imbalanced.
Therefore, you need to stay adequately hydrated and take in a lot of soluble fiber, which you will get from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to keep your hormones balanced.
Water Promotes Optimal Mental Health
If you find yourself feeling down or overly anxious and yet you are unsure as to why you are feeling that way, or if you are struggling to concentrate, then you will want to check how often you are drinking your H2O. Proper hydration will help regulate your emotions and will help you focus better. Remember that your brain is 80 percent water and must be hydrated to best function.
That way, the essential chemicals that will keep your mental health in check, such as serotonin and dopamine, will be appropriately regulated. And if you do have mental health disorders where you require medication to keep your brain chemicals balanced, you still need adequate hydration to help your medication work for you.
Keeps Muscles Energized
You want to keep your muscles healthy by staying active. You don’t need to do hours of cardio daily to keep your muscles healthy, but you need to be active, so you don’t want to live a sedentary life. And when you exercise, you will want to ensure that you keep drinking enough water to energize your muscles. The electrolytes in water are what will keep your muscles healthy and growing.
Without the water you need to energize your muscles, they will grow weak and won’t be at the best performance. And when your muscles are tired, so are you, and the more tired you are, the less you will want to be active. It becomes a vicious cycle. Therefore, water intake will help revitalize your muscles.
Water Keeps Your Liver and Kidneys Healthy
Your kidneys and liver are essential organs that detox your body regularly, and you want to ensure that they function correctly so they can do their jobs. The best thing you can do to ensure they perform at their best is to keep yourself hydrated.
Proper water intake will help flush out those toxins, as water will help prevent recycling and the build-up of toxins. If you do not drink enough H2O, then your kidneys and liver will not be able to flush out those toxins from your body effectively, and that can cause you some significant health problems.
Water is Good For Your Digestive Tract
You need adequate fiber intake for your digestive system to work correctly, and it helps keep your microbiome in your gut healthy. However, fiber will not be able to do its job correctly if it does not have help with water, which will help you keep your digestive system regular.
If you are struggling with being regular and dealing with a lot of discomfort, you will first want to check to see if you are consuming enough fiber from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, or nuts. If you are, but you are still struggling, you should check to see how much H2O you are drinking. Because if you are not drinking much water, that is likely the cause.
Now you know how water is necessary for your physical, emotional, and mental health. It is also essential for your spiritual health. Now, let’s talk about why water is vital spiritually. In many cultures and belief systems, water is often associated with spiritual cleansing and purification. There are several spiritual ways that water can help you.
Purification
Water is believed to have the power to cleanse and purify the body, mind, and spirit. You already know drinking water will help your skin, kidneys, liver, and digestive system release toxins. Water releases toxins on a spiritual level, too. Taking a bath or shower can be a physical and symbolic act of washing away negative energy and emotions, allowing you to feel refreshed and renewed. And it does help. Consider taking spiritual baths, as herbs, salts, and other elements will help the water draw those toxins out a lot more.
Meditation
The sound and movement of water, such as waves crashing on the shore or the gentle flow of a river, can be soothing and help induce a meditative state. Many people find it easier to relax and focus their thoughts when surrounded by the calming presence of water. And if you don’t live near a body of water or a beach, you can always download sound clips of waves crashing to listen to when you want to meditate. There are plenty of meditation apps that have sound clips.
Connection to Nature
Water is an essential element of nature, and spending time near bodies of water, such as lakes, rivers, or oceans, can help you feel more connected to the natural world. This connection can bring a sense of peace, harmony, and a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of all things. However, you may not live near water to make this possible. This is also why baths can help, as you will still be connected to water. Make a day trip once in a while to visit a nearby lake to connect to nature.
Emotional Release
Just as water can cleanse the physical body, it can also help release emotional and energetic blockages. Crying, for example, is a natural way to release pent-up emotions and find emotional healing. Similarly, being near or engaging in water activities like swimming or floating can help you release stress, tension, and emotional burdens. That is also why swimming is an activity that many people love, as you get the activity you need into your day while engaging with water. It helps you feel free as a result.
Water is essential for physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health. That is because water is the element that helps you purge toxins that are no longer good for you, so you need it for your kidneys, liver, digestive system, and skin to be at its best. Water is also invigorating, so you feel more alert when properly hydrated and your muscles work better. When it comes to water in the spiritual sense, it helps you spiritually and emotionally purge what is no good for you through bathing or showering, and it also enables you to connect with nature. In honor of Water Day on March 22, be sure to keep tabs on how much H2O you are taking in!
