World Backup Day & the Water Cooler

World Backup Day & the Water Cooler

You might be thinking ‘what do World Backup Day and the water cooler have in common?’ – well, the answer to that would be ‘habit’!

You see, the majority of us don’t do either often enough – we don’t backup our data often enough, and we don’t drink water often enough to keep our bodies sufficiently hydrated.

Let’s start with World Backup Day:

#WorldBackupDay was founded in 2011 by Youngstown State University student, Ismail Jadun, after he and fellow ‘redditors’ were discussing how lax most people were about doing it. He decided that the day before April Fool’s Day was the perfect time to address the issue and spread the word.

Fast forward eight years and his words are still compelling. ‘We all know someone who has lost critical data, whether it was their videos, photos, music, book reports, or personal stuff.  Hopefully this day will make everyone think about their situation, learn about the various options and get their files backed up.  I hope that World Backup Day sparks conversations about the enormous task of saving our digital heritage for future generations.’

So, whatever you do, be sure to make backing up a habit – not just on the 31st but more regularly too.

Let’s move on to the Water Cooler:

We all know how important it is to remain properly hydrated. Water helps to regulate our body temperature; it helps to moisten tissues such as those found in our mouth, eyes, and nose; it helps to lubricate and cushion our joints; it helps to keep our bowel movements regular; it helps our kidneys and liver work smarter; and it’s the carrier of nutrients and oxygen to our cells. And apart from all the physiological benefits of being sufficiently hydrated, there’s the emotional and mental well-being it brings too – it can help stabilise our moods and it’s linked to increased mental acuity and productivity.

We know all this, but do we visit the water cooler often enough during our work day to ensure optimal levels of hydration? For many of us the answer to that would be ‘no’.

So, just like backing up our data should be a regular habit, so too should be drinking water – our digital lives depend on the former, and our actual lives depend on the latter!

Sources:

Barracuda (https://blog.barracuda.com/2018/03/19/how-will-you-celebrate-world-backup-day/)

St Patrick’s Day & the Water Dispenser

St Patrick’s Day & the Water Dispenser

It’s time to get your buzz on, because very soon it’s St Patrick’s Day and all around the world, Irish and non-Irish alike will be celebrating. For those of you that don’t know, the day (actually his death day) commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. The custom to wear shamrocks and go all-green (a colour long associated with Ireland), comes from St Patrick’s use of the three-leaved plant, to signify the Holy Trinity.

What might St Patrick’s Day have to do with a water dispenser you ask? Well, if you’re planning on imbibing and you don’t want to feel like a train wreck the next day, then it’s best to take precautions, and one of the most important is to remain well-hydrated – with water that is, not alcohol. So, frequent stops at the office water cooler in the lead up to the holiday is advisable, as is matching each alcoholic beverage with a glass of water on the day itself.

And if beer or a pint of Guinness isn’t your cup of tea (see what we did there) then why not try out a few fabulously green-inspired cocktails

Shamrock Shaker

1½ oz. Tequila

1½ oz. Sour Apple Liqueur

¼ Agave Nectar

2 oz. Lime Juice

Simply combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice, give it a good shake and serve in a martini glass garnished with thin slices of apples.

Frozen Mojito

1½ oz. White Rum

1½ oz. Mojito Mix Syrup

½ oz. Lime Juice

5 Mint Leaves

Splash of Sour Mix

Blitz all ingredients in a blender, add ice, blitz again and serve garnished with a slice of lime.

Wasabi Praise

1½ oz. Sake

1½ oz. Vodka

½ oz. Lime Juice

Pea size of Wasabi

Combine all ingredients, stir and serve.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day – remember to stay well-hydrated (the water cooler is your friend!) and enjoy responsibly.

Six brilliant reasons to swap the pop for water

Six brilliant reasons to swap the pop for water

Drinking fizzy soft drinks has long been in the spotlight, not least because of the high calorie count in each can, but also due to the high sugar content. While fine to drink on occasion, high-calorie, high-sugar drinks, like fizzy drinks, can cause an array of negative effects to your body and well-being.

Swapping fizzy drinks for water is one of the quickest and easiest ways to stay hydrated and improve your overall health in both the short- and long-term future. Still not convinced? Have a quick read of these six reasons to drink more H2O:

  1. Feel Happier

Dehydration can affect your mood and make you feel sad, grumpy and confused.  When you maintain good hydration habits – see the recommended daily water consumption here – you will soon feel more energised. Water stimulates the flow of nutrients and hormones that release those feel-good endorphins you need to feel happy.

  1. Burn More Calories

Drinking more water can help you to burn more calories by regulating your metabolism, which is your body’s ability to convert food into energy. By simply drinking as little as 500ml of water per day, your metabolism could speed up by as much as 30 percent.

  1. Exercise with Ease

Swap out sugar filled energy drinks for water – drinking water while working out is the ultimate muscle fuel.  High-intensity physical activity can cause you to lose water through sweat and your muscles to become tired. For a boost of energy, drink water to reduce cramps and sprains, and push you through that final exercise set or that last 200m of your run.

  1. Flush Toxins Out

You may have tried the latest juice cleanse to detox your body, but what about drinking a refreshing glass of water? Water helps to eliminate wastes and toxins from your body by encouraging healthy digestion and transporting nutrients to where they are needed.*

  1. Helps you have Clearer Skin

Studies show that people who drink more water tend to have clearer, younger looking skin. Water works to hydrate your skin and reduce toxin-induced blemishes, resulting in a healthy glow even your best moisturiser can’t achieve on its own.

  1. Boosts Your Productivity

Your brain and nervous system send out electrical signals to function properly. Having a regular supply of water will help to increase electrical functioning in your brain for clearer thinking, so you will feel more efficient and productive.

Need a fantastic cool drinking water delivery system a.k.a (in simple terms) a water cooler to help you with your switch to a healthier hydration lifestyle? Look no further than to us at AquAid Water Coolers. We’ve been keeping more than 33,000 customers happily hydrated for over 20 years. Contact one of our helpful team today.

*excerpts from an infographic at Unity Point

 

Love Your Pet Day

Love Your Pet Day

Last week was #LoveYourPetDay in the # world and it’s wonderful to know that there’s a day dedicated to something that brings so much joy to so many of us! It’s well established how therapeutic having a pet can be, in fact certain companies even encourage a ‘Bring Your Pet to Work’ day as a form of reward and recognition – absolutely lovely if your pet is a dog or cat, not so lovely I’d imagine if your pet is something more slithery or rodent-y, but then again, who are we to judge…

If you are lucky enough to work for a company who encourages such a policy, be sure to bring along everything your pet might need for the day, and very importantly remember that pets , just like us humans, need to remain properly hydrated too, so make regular trips to the water cooler to top up their water bowls. Hmmm, equally important then are regular toilet breaks.

But anyway, back to the benefits of having a pet – and in this case specifically dogs, because we’re a little partial to dogs here in the AquAid water cooler office. Mordecai Siegal said ‘acquiring a dog may be the only time a person gets to choose a relative’ and that’s so true. Research shows that there are physical benefits to having a dog around, from improved cardiovascular health and increased physical activity, to lower cholesterol and decreased blood pressure – not something all relatives can lay claim to. Dogs also help reduce our stress and teach us mindfulness.

As M.K. Clinton said ‘the world would be a nicer place if everyone had the ability to love as unconditionally as a dog.’

Water Cooler Health – is Mint good for You?

Water Cooler Health – is Mint good for You?

Here at AquAid Water Coolers, we’re always on the lookout for helpful health tips drawn from nature that can accompany your drinking water. We’ve referenced mint before on a few occasions – once in 2015 and again in 2017 and last year – but we’ve never really looked...