by Fern Shaw | Apr 11, 2013 | Health and Hydration, Water Coolers
… Rain (blizzards, snow, and sub-zero temperatures) or Shine (weak lemony coloured sun that wouldn’t tan a meringue) you begin to notice that your staff is a tad dispirited, if not outrightly unproductive. No spring in their step, no whistle in their walk.
So, at great cost, you institute an Independent Board of Enquiry to establish the cause of this general malaise that’s affecting everyone from Mrs Tibbins, usually the whizz bang accountant, through to Mr Oogle, usually the zoomiest bike messenger ever (but sadly not for the past few months.)
While all of this is in motion, the meeker than the proverbial mouse IT person, Tad, squeaks up.
‘We’ve no water in the water coolers’, says Tad, ‘so everybody’s most likely dehydrated’.
‘What?’ splutters HOD Mrs Furthingstoke, ‘what does that have to do with everyone not performing at their peak? Pure poppycock, I’m sure!’
‘Incorrect’, corrects Tad, ‘not drinking water regularly is one of the leading causes of many illnesses and especially fatigue’.
As it turns out, Tad was proven correct. The Board of Enquiry was dismissed, the water coolers were kept replenished, productivity soared and absenteeism dropped rapidly.
Take it from Tad, dehydration can happen sooner than one thinks. Some early warning signs are:
- Light-headedness, dizziness;
- Tiredness, irritability, headache;
- Dry mouth, throat and eyes;
- Sunken features (particularly the eyes), flushed skin and skin that is loose and lacks elasticity;
- Heat intolerance;
- There may be a burning sensation in the stomach, urine output will be reduced and may appear darker than usual.
So, in the interests of having a healthy, happy, productive work environment, take the simplest route – ensure that there is always fresh, clean drinking water from source, available at the press of a button, in the workplace.
by Fern Shaw | Apr 9, 2013 | Health and Hydration
Spring is apparently upon us, so hopefully with temperatures on the rise, the keeping fit and getting in shape for summer is becoming priority One. This means (hopefully), that one’s water intake will increase too. To make your water intake more fab and fun, herewith a range of suggestions that should keep you feeling marvellous, looking more fit and keeping hydrated:
- Add cucumber. If you prefer a flavour that is less sweet, add just a few slices to your glass and the subtle flavour gives your water a fresh, spa-like taste. If you have more time, fill a pitcher with a handful of cucumber slices and let it sit in your fridge.
- Make yourself feel cocktail-ish. If drinking water can seem too bland, try it with a twist of lime or a splash of sugar-free fruit juice – cranberry or pomegranate juice are great options. Try different combinations, how about grapefruit and blackcurrant? Yowzer.
- Mint cubes. Make mint ice cubes by throwing a small sprig of spearmint, peppermint, or lemon mint into the ice cube tray, add water and freeze. You can also do this with your favourite herb, like rosemary or basil.
- Go Herbal. Add powdered or freshly sliced ginger, bruised mint leaves, or lemongrass to amp up your H2O. Or go floral. Lavender and rose hips are loaded with vitamin C and may help ease arthritis pain.
- Make It ‘Sassy’. Stay hydrated with a stomach-soothing recipe for Sassy Water. It combines fresh ginger, cucumber, lemon, and spearmint for a tummy-pleasing cocktail.
- Water as a Meal. If downing water all day is what bores you, try treating it as a meal—or, better yet, three meals. Try drinking water to a comfortable fullness 3 times a day. On colder days, it might be less; on warmer days, more. But comfortable fullness should be enough to stay hydrated. This will lower the amount of calories you eat for roughly an hour afterward.”
- Switch It Up. Simply change the way you drink water – out of a glass instead of a bottle, for example. Or drink it at a different temperature. If you change the temperature, you can change the experience and that can be enough to alter your water intake. Remember, cold water takes longer to drink. If you want to down it faster – to get your water-intake over with – drink it at room temperature instead of icy cold.
Remember, whether commuting; exercising; not exercising; working; relaxing; socialising – in fact, pretty much every –ing except sleeping, keep hydrated this Spring – it can only be good for you.
by Fern Shaw | Apr 9, 2013 | Health and Hydration
We still think water is better. Find out why we think so here.
When you start to drink more water, you’ll find that you drink fewer fizzy drinks and fewer high-calorie drinks. There are a few major benefits to this:
- Swapping water for fizzy drinks helps to decrease your daily caloric intake
- Drinking more water helps you to feel full throughout the day so you snack less
- Drinking water trains your taste buds to enjoy the subtle tastes of whole foods that are less processed and lower in calories
- Drinking sufficient water will have a pretty noticeable and remarkably fast effect (for the better) on your physical well-being
- Drinking water instead of reaching for the fizz will fatten your brain cells and not your body’s fat cells
- Fizzy drinks can act as a diuretic whereas water does not dehydrate you – in, the fact it achieves the complete opposite
- Drinking water, while you may not initially register it, is incredibly refreshing, whereas drinking fizzy drinks is falsely refreshing
And while you might drink water to lose weight, you’ll find that it’s good for your purse as well. Have you ever thought about the annual cost of your fizzy drink habit? For many people, it is substantial. A single diet fizzy drink during the day may not seem expensive, but over the course of a year, it adds up to hundreds of pounds.
This week, I’ll catch you at the water cooler where I’ll be lurking in an observational mode for research I’m doing on changing seasonal water habits and if there’s any truth to them. See you there!
by Fern Shaw | Mar 26, 2013 | Charity, Health and Hydration
There are seven billion people on this planet and only one has run 521 miles on a treadmill in a week!
AITC’s Dan Lawson broke Sharon Gayter’s incredible record in the early hours of this morning, surrounded by well-wishers and supporters including Albion in the Community’s Dick Knight, Alan Sanders and Michael Edwards, plus Albion’s chief executive Paul Barber, who ran for an hour with Dan earlier in the evening alongside club chairman Tony Bloom.
In an electric atmosphere, Dan’s seven-day mission came to a climatic end amid raucous cheers, and quite a few tears, at 12.20am. Running over three marathons a day, the 40-year-old from Hove tested his mental and physical strength to the absolute limit battling through severe stomach pain, sleep deprivation, and creaking joints to break a world record that may never be eclipsed.
Buoyed throughout the final day by his favourite music from the early 1990s and unstinting support from his colleague Stuart Christie, friends Charlotte Jalley and Lewis Pilgrim, and his two daughters Lilly and Ruby, Dan also managed to conduct three TV interviews – two live – and four on the radio!
Dan’s stunning achievement was to raise funds and awareness for AITC’s children’s activity projects, designed to keep their youngsters healthy and active.
Sponsor Dan: here.
All of us here at AquAid and specifically those at AquAid West Sussex, who sponsored Dan’s Water Coolers and drinking water, would like to say congratulations to Dan on an absolutely phenomenal achievement!
by Fern Shaw | Mar 26, 2013 | Health and Hydration
Hydration
Verb
A compound, typically a crystalline one, in which water molecules are chemically bound to another compound or an element.
Noun
Cause to absorb water.
Hydration
The process of combining with water; is usually reversible.
Further than the noun and the verb of the word, what is the big, fat, hairy deal with hydration? Is it just a buzzword? A trend? Or, is there actually something more to it?
Short answer:
Yes!
Elaborate:
Well, perhaps hydration is a bit of buzz word and 2 decades ago, we, similar to our animals, referred to our being needed to be kept hydrated as being kept ‘watered’, however, the importance is the same – drinking sufficient water is essential to humans – in fact, it is an absolute necessity.
Why?
Water makes up approximately 70 per cent of an adult’s body, so as petrol fuels an engine to make it run, water is the fuel that runs our bodies (and brains etc. etc).
For a car engine, it’s pretty simple, no fuel, no motion, but for humans, a little more dramatic – you could be doing yourself harm by not keeping hydrated – to the point where you can hardly function and potentially exacerbate any deficiency or illness you may have.
Next week, perhaps you’d like to gather around the water cooler with me for more detail about the importance of drinking the aqua whether at the workplace, the home space or schmoozing the FaceBook.
by Fern Shaw | Mar 14, 2013 | Charity, Health and Hydration
Albion in the Community (AITC) is Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club’s innovative, multi award-winning and independent charity.
AITC use the power of football and the reach of Brighton & Hove Albion to deliver projects in the areas of health, education, disability and social inclusion all underpinned by our core themes – increasing participation, creating opportunities, tackling inequalities and improving health. In 2011 alone, they directly benefited 47,821 people through their work.
This March, the excitement builds, as Dan’s Dare looms large on the horizon.
What is Dan’s Dare you may ask? Dan is hoping to beat the greatest distance run in a week on a treadmill to raise money for Albion in the Community.
This Saturday, 16 March, the 40 year old Dan Lawson will commence his world-record attempt outside the Jubilee Library in the centre of Brighton. The current record stands at 520 miles and to surpass it he will have to run the equivalent of 20 marathons, nearly three a day. There will be little time for sleep and recovery as Dan is expected to run non-stop for around 14 hours a day.
Companies can register to secure a day of 10 one-hour slots for employees to run alongside Dan. Each runner will need to raise a minimum of £100. If your company would like to support Dan, please contact Bob Beaken at: Bob.Beaken@albioninthecommunity.org.uk
Should you wish to Sponsor Dan you can do so by clicking here You can also get in touch and find out more by following Dan on Twitter @therunningdan.
AquAid West Sussex is so impressed with Dan’s Dare that they’re supplying all the drinking water for his mind boggling attempt at beating the current record.
At AquAid, in case you weren’t aware, we’re all about, well, water – fresh, from the source, bottled water that we supply to customers throughout the U.K. More than this though, a very important part of AquAid’s work ethos is to also ensure that those in desperate need in Third World countries have access to clean drinking water too.
Go Dan, go! We’re really rooting for you and your effort.
