Water Challenge at Work: A Step towards a Healthy Lifestyle

Who do you think is the champion of all drinks?

You are deeply mistaken if you say any drink other than water. Because I don't think an alternative to water exists. People who are highly ignorant of the benefits of water need to be introduced to a water challenge, a challenge to oneself on drinking water.

I mean, you can drink soft drinks and beverages all you want, but nothing comes closer.

Having said that, I am already down with five glasses of water, and it is not evening yet. So, you can imagine. Also, water is my favorite. Yes, I am one of those who select water as their favorite drink category.

Water is a significant source of health in everyone's life; there is no denying that. Staying hydrated becomes essential, especially when working a job, as amidst stress, drinking water can be overlooked.

But, in the long run, employees cannot perform well if they do not drink as much water as required for a healthy individual. This factor, in turn, will affect productivity.

Even though we are pretty much aware of it, we are lagging when it comes to consuming H2O.

What is a Water Challenge?

A water challenge, or rather a drinking water challenge, is an exciting initiative that comprises fun and is healthy at the same time.

Who would have thought drinking water could become a competition, but it is what it is.

Sweating, food digestion, and even breathing contribute to water loss in a body, making drinking water a crucial task. It is clinically tested that one must aim to drink around 8 glasses of water in a day.

That's pretty less and easily achievable.

Dehydration is a severe issue that people often neglect. And this negligence brings us to the idea of the water challenge.

When I say water challenge, it certainly means challenging oneself in drinking the recommended intake of water daily.

Although I am still in doubt about why "drinking water" is a "challenge," once you complete the challenge, you will be amazed to see the changes in ways your body feels.

A water challenge may drive you to drink more water and cut off unhealthy drinks simultaneously.

See? How smart that is.

Water keeps you hydrated, energized, and in full potential. As a result, introducing water challenges in the workplace can do wonders for the employees and the company.

Also known as hydration challenge, it is nothing but a way to increase water intake for a month or a week. The challenges may vary in terms of days and weeks; there are 30-day or a 7-day challenge, whichever fits. It helps one notice the benefits water intake brings along with it.

Besides, during this time, one has to forget drinks high in sugar and calories, for these will affect the healthy routine.

How to Start a Water Challenge?

Don't you think it's a cakewalk- the entire process of drinking water?

It indeed is, but often, the reminders can get lost amid busy schedules.

Be it a 7-day or a 30-day water challenge, it needs high motivation and plans to go forward with. Therefore, these are a few steps on how to start a water challenge-

• First and foremost, figure out how much water you should be drinking in a day
• Decide on the water challenge duration- 5-day, 7-day, or a 30-day, not to mention the steps would be similar, only stretched along the extra few days
• Taking the first two points into account, create a proper drinking plan as, without it, you will be unable to track the amount of water you consumed
• Make sure to set the intake frequency and distribute the liters over 24 hours
• Get yourself a water bottle with proper measurements for you to track water intake
• Set reminders on your phone to prevent you from skipping the challenge. Several applications are also available online for this purpose

Water Challenge at Work

If you are an HR professional, you are vested with the responsibility of employee health. Every now and then, you might be having to look for employee health promotion activities to organize at work in order to spread awareness about the same. And, this challenge seems to help you with that.

As everyone knows, drinking water is directly related to health- so, what should you do to convince your employees to increase their water consumption in the workplace?

• Hold awareness campaigns to promote the benefits of drinking water
• Get water bottles for all your employees with their names on them
• Make water coolers, water purifiers available in the office
• Put up a clear signpost with "Drink water" written to navigate people towards the drinking area
• Motivate every employee to keep filling their bottles and commit to drinking
• Conduct water drinking challenges and rewarding the winners with exciting gifts
• Provide drinking water in every place like conference rooms, canteen, and wherever possible
• Please send emails to the entire staff every morning, reminding them to drink water

We at Vantage Fit offer several wellness challenges every two weeks, where we ask our employees to log in their water intake on a daily basis.

Water Challenge Ideas

Drink a gallon of water for the next 30 days? Or maybe 7 days?

For some, a 30-day water challenge can be tough to follow. Then you can resort to taking on the 7-day challenge.

However, a 30-day challenge can be started as slow and steady where you can take a minimum amount of water to begin with, while a 7-day challenge calls for action right from the beginning.

Both are equally beneficial because, in the end, results matter.

7-day Water Challenge

Day 1- Whether you drink less or lesser water every day, it is imperative to set hourly reminders so that you do not miss out on it because of work.

Day 2- Drinking plain water seems boring? Might be. To make it easier, what you can do is add fruits or herbs like mint and cucumber to your water glass.

This way, you get the flavor. Also, add exercise to the routine so that you can feel more thirsty. Try the 7-minute workout session and see the changes for yourself.

Day 3- Doing the challenge alone can make you feel disinterested, which is why you need to ask a friend or a colleague to join you in the challenge. Ultimately this leads to competition, and who doesn't want to win?

Day 4- Replace all your beverages with water. Coffee, soda, etc., are a big NO. Instead, increase your water intake — double the glasses of water for every one glass of soda.

Day 5- Keep track of water consumption by marking your bottles. Use a marker and draw the level of Water you need to complete drinking within a particular time. In this way, you would be able to know whether you are ahead or lagging.

Day 6- Try your best to follow the routine. Because in the end, you will come out as a winner and no one else. Drink Water in the morning, before meals, before using the washrooms, during exercise, and before sleep.

Day 7- Once you have followed the necessary routine without any fail, it is time to reward yourself with a new water bottle. Also, it would be best if you were accustomed to the tradition of drinking water by now.

30-day Water Challenge

Week 1

The first week can be unpredictable. Whether you take part in the gallon water challenge or a simple 8-glass drinking water challenge, one activity that will keep you busy throughout the day is running to and from the restroom.

After drinking the recommended quantity, you might feel bloated as you are not used to consuming that much water daily.

Despite these few challenges, the benefits that come attached to hydration should make you hang in there.

Week 2

In the second week, you might still feel bloated and need reminders to drink as it's just been a few days. But it will be less bloated and less forgetful.

And, on the bright side, you would witness yourself going for less and healthy food. Food intake would decrease with stomach filled with water, and your urges for healthy food would enhance, instead.

Week 3

As they say, the third time's a charm; similarly, the third week does the magic. This week, you start noticing the change- you would feel charged and stop having urges for even flavored drinks.

You would rather start craving for water. Even a gallon would not be enough. You will even want water before drinking or eating any meal.

Week 4

A month already? Once you begin the challenge, the weeks will pass in the blink of an eye.

Nevertheless, by the end of the month, you will notice that your sleep pattern has improved, and you feel healthier, refreshing, more energetic than you have been, a month back.

Also Read : How Sleep Deprivation Affects Work Performance

Water Challenge Benefits

Hydration leads to healthy living. Here, I have listed some of the benefits a water challenge brings along with it.

Photo by Vitalii Pavlyshynets on Unsplash

• Helps with digestion
• Improves Skin condition
• Heightens energy and keeps one charged all the time
• Energizes muscles, ridding one-off of sprains and cramps
• Burns calories, thereby leading to weight loss
• Ensures normal bowel system
• Boosts immunity
• Removes toxins from the system

One can derive a thousand other health benefits from drinking water, if only he chooses to sip on a glass of water, on a regular basis.

Water Challenge Tips

Laying down water challenge requires you to do and not do certain things.

Do

• Create and follow a perfect plan
• Drink on a routine
• Exercise to induce thirst
• Drink water, preferably in the morning, before meals, during exercise, and before going to bed at night, and whenever your planner suggests
• Have Water mixed with herbs and fruits to enjoy the taste

Dont

• Do not skip or miss out on the hourly reminders to drink water
• Say NO to sugar, soda, or alcohol
• Avoid consuming anything, both food and drinks, high in calories and replacing them with a healthy diet and lots of water
• Don't go back to bad habits, like junk eating, smoking at work everyday
• Do not overdo it

You might also like: Uncover the Pros And Cons Of Water Fasting

Wrapping it Up

Do you want to start with the challenge?

It's pretty easy if you are set along the right way and are goal-oriented. Looking for shortcuts won't help in such challenges.

Drinking water should be a mandatory activity daily. Right from charging you up to helping in body weight, water does it all.

If you have trouble going for a 30-day water challenge, opt for the 7-day or a 5-day, whichever suits you. Once you go through with it, you need to be on a proper schedule and see the benefits you avail from water.

So, Water you waiting for? Drink every day—only water.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. How to start a water challenge at work?

Starting a water challenge at work for yourself or the team can be smooth. All you have to do is assign your employees a 7-day or 30-day task of drinking a minimum amount of water daily. You can also attach rewards to the challenge for high motivation.

2. What is a 7-day water challenge?

A 7-day water challenge includes a routine comprising setting hourly reminders to drink water and trying ways to form the habit over the course of 7 days.

3. What is a 30-day water challenge?

A 30-day water challenge can be more vigorous, spanning over 4 weeks, with each week being more intense than the other. The result will, however, be fruitful, forming the water intake habit for life.