Working remotely from home is often as mentally consuming as working onsite, but it gives you more control over your working conditions, timing and breaks. For this reason, you have to make sure you manage your food and fluid intake in order to stay productive. Research conducted at the Indian Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences shows that only 2% of dehydration will negatively affect cognitive functions like short-term memory, reasoning and hand-eye coordination, although they also state that a mere 1% is enough to lower your intellectual performance.
How to drink enough water at home
Remote workers have to mind their fluid intake in order to prevent mild dehydration, which can be difficult because it’s easy to become absorbed in the work and forget about everything else. Many use the old trick of placing a bottle or a big cup of water by their computer or on their working desk, in order to remember to drink some every now and then. This is a good idea, just make sure to use a capped bottle or a cup with a lid on if you are working with materials that could be damaged by an accidental spill, such as blueprints or cardboard models.
Some workers opt for tap water, while others stay they prefer mineral water or spring water because it is healthier. In fact, bottled water tends to be safer than tap water, but the main downside is that it is more expensive. Since the suggested daily water intake is 9 glasses for women and 12 glasses for men, buying spring water is an expense you have to consider when planning your monthly finances. Mineral and spring water also have ionized minerals that help improve your cognitive functions.
Best drinks to order when working at a cafe
Many remote workers and freelancers like to step by their favorite cafe – or a new one every day if they are traveling workers – and spend a couple hours working there. Some actually focus better and produce more when working at a cafe, and ordering a large cup of a nice beverage helps them stay hydrated. Now, not all of them know that some drinks are better than others for their hydration. Coffee, tea and sodas have a high percentage of water, but many have caffeine, which acts as a diuretic (a dehydrating agent). So decaf drinks are more recommendable in these cases. Also, juice fruits and milk-based drinks tend to have a lesser percentage of water than infusions, so they are not as good in that regard.
Food that hydrates you
Drinking water is not the only way to stay hydrated. Many foods are very rich in water, so if you eat them at lunch or during your breaks, you can add up to your daily fluid intake. Fruits such as grapes, watermelon and grapefruit are among the most hydrating aliments you can eat. Soup and Jell-O are also big sources of water. Interestingly enough, many types of meat such as beef and chicken, have up to 60% of water, so a hamburger at lunch or a nice hot pot for the winter can be just as great as a glass of water.
Staying hydrated is not as difficult as you may think, but it’s certainly very important to keep you at the top of your game. Make sure to drink enough water and use these hydration hacks to keep yourself productive, awake and making the best out of your remote working hours.
Guest Author, Jenny Holt, is a former HR executive turned freelance writer, who now spends more time with her young family and ageing, but ever eager Labrador, Rover.