Water Challenge

This month’s wellbeing challenge is now coming to an end and the team are positively glowing after drinking so much water and getting fresh air and blood pumping around the body.

As a reminder – our challenge for this month was to drink the recommended 8 glasses of water a day, and to make time for a daily walk or run. This is thought to not only be beneficial for your physical health, but also for your mental wellbeing. I wonder how everyone got on?!

For me, drinking enough water is something that I try to be conscious of generally but I really appreciated the accountability in having it set as a challenge. I just needed to find some ways of ensuring that I actually achieved the recommended amount, rather than just guessing or assuming I’d had enough. So the best way to do this, I have found, is to have a big fancy water bottle that feels a bit more luxury to drink out of and helps you keep measure. For some reason, I am so much more motivated to drink out of a nice looking bottle rather than a glass I have to keep re-filling, and I’ve definitely noticed a similar trend around the office this month with an array of colourful gadget filled water vessels appearing.

And the results are worth it…I’ve definitely noticed that on the days when I remembered to drink enough (some days I failed) I am more alert and more focused. When I reach the afternoon slump, I know that a glass of water is going to be much better at waking me up than that cup of caffeine that I crave. But going forwards, I think it is important to remember to listen to my body as well, as on some days I have noticed that I need more water than on others depending on what I am doing and what environment I am in.

The second part of our challenge was to walk or run every single day. I think I have managed the walking most days, but I’m not as dedicated as those team members who go to the gym or run regularly (Kieran and Amanda). For me, having a dog who nags me every day to take him for a walk has been a pretty handy way of keeping on top of this one. Similarly, the regular walks down the corridor to the toilet because I have been drinking so much water have also helped.

So what has been the benefit of regular walks? Once again, I think it helps my energy levels and prevents that lethargic foggy feeling in the afternoon that I suffer from. Even whilst writing this blog post I have got up to stretch and pace around the office to re-charge myself and come back more motivated. I am convinced that these simple daily habits do make a difference, the question is will I be motivated to continue them without the accountability of the team checking up on me...?