Do you drink enough water every day? Recommendations vary depending on weight, age, and activity level but an easy one to remember is 8x8, or 8 glasses of 8 ounces of water each day.

Drinking water regularly can help you to lose weight, think better, stay in a better mood, prevent disease, and more.

Is that enough to have you reaching for your water bottle? Not yet? Ok, we’ll list the top 5 reasons why you should drink lots of water:

1.Improve physical performance

During physical activity, our bodies use up a lot of water. So, staying hydrated before, during and after exercise helps to protect your body from harm, and to help you to perform better. Proper hydration can reduce fatigue, improve endurance, lower your maximum heart rate, and more. It can also help you to be less sore after exercise.

2.Improve mood

Dehydration is known to cause headaches, which might explain why it’s common to get cranky when one strikes. Research supports this theory, as a study found that even mild dehydration had a negative effect on mood. Therefore, a glass of water might work double duty in helping prevent headaches as well as promote a sense of refreshment that naturally enhances mood, as well.

3.Relieves Fatigue

Did you know that fatigue is one of the first signs of dehydration? If you feel sluggish and tired half way through the day, you might not be consuming enough water. With an inadequate amount of water in the body, your blood volume level drops. In turn, your heart works harder to pump oxygenated blood into the bloodstream. Other organs also work less efficiently but drinking more water can help the body function better.

4.Prevents cramps and sprains

It’s no secret that dehydration leads to cramping. But did you know that hydrated muscles are also less prone to sprains? Water acts as a natural lubricant for your muscles and joints. Develop healthy hydration and you’ll be more flexible, less likely to experience sprained ankles, and less likely to be sore after that next killer workout.

5.It regulates body temperature

Water that is stored in the middle layers of the skin comes to the skin's surface as sweat when the body heats up. As it evaporates, it cools the body. In sport.

Some scientists have suggested that when there is too little water in the body, heat storage increases and the individual is less able to tolerate heat strain. Having a lot of water in the body may reduce physical strain if heat stress occurs during exercise.