It's important to drink enough water during the day, however, it can be disruptive if you drink directly before bed. Avoid drinking water or any other fluids at least two hours before sleeping to prevent waking up at night.
“As a general rule, drink less than a glass of water in those last two hours before bedtime if you have to. And drink small sips,” advises Dr. Vensel Rundo. This goes for other late night sips as well.
Lowers blood pressure and heart rate
Similarly, a 2020 study suggests that drinking water habitually before bedtime may reduce blood pressure. Water helps the heart pump blood more efficiently, as it may prevent strain on the heart, blood pressure, and heart rate.
Burns calories
Consuming cold water before bed can also help your body to burn more calories during the night while you sleep! Water is a natural calorie burner and drinking cold water before bed causes your body to have to work twice as hard to warm the water up while you are resting, thus burning more calories.
"In the evening, we produce melatonin, which not only makes our mind sleepy, but also triggers the sleeping state of cells in which they repair and regenerate," she said. "Our body knows that hours without hydration are ahead, and it recharges our fluid supply, hence, the increased thirst at night."
For instance, eating a particularly salty or spicy snack or meal just before bed can cause thirst that's temporary, but intense — potentially intense enough to wake you up. Additionally, alcohol and caffeine can dehydrate your mouth, so it's best to limit both before going to bed to avoid dry mouth.
If you feel very thirsty before bed, you may want to drink a small glass of water to help you get through the night. However, the ideal is to stay hydrated throughout the day so you do not need to drink excessive amounts of water at bedtime.
Drinking water before bed has a number of benefits, but drinking too close to bedtime can interrupt your sleep cycle and negatively impact heart health. You must drink enough water throughout the day to avoid dehydration and prevent excess water intake at night. One sign of dehydration is dark urine.
Drinking water first thing in the morning immediately helps rehydrate the body. Your six to eight hours of sleep is a long period to go without any water consumption. Drinking two or three glasses of water right when you wake up is a good way to rehydrate your body quickly.
Unlike foods, water can be “digested” in as little as 5 minutes. Excess water leaves your body through urination and feces but is also excreted by sweating. Your body uses water for many of its daily processes, and since it passes through your body so quickly, it's important to stay hydrated.
Though going to bed hungry can help with sleep and weight loss, lack of access to food can actually increase your risk of obesity, asthma, and other health problems.
While some worry that drinking too much water can negatively impact our sleep, studies show that staying hydrated can not only help you sleep better, it can also improve your health.
You can still enjoy a drink or two, but there are a couple of tips you should follow to ensure it's not impairing your sleep: Allow at minimum three hours between your last drink and the time you go to bed. Drink water along with alcohol to help flush the alcohol out.
Dr. Conroy recommends avoiding it at least three hours before bed. "It's sedating at first, so it can help you fall asleep, but can interfere with staying asleep. And so to avoid that we generally use a three-hour guideline," she says.
The benefits of drinking water on an empty stomach include positive effects for flushing toxins from the body, increasing energy and immunity, reducing weight and increasing metabolism, and preventing headaches and kidney stones. It aids in the cleansing of bowels and improves hair and skin health.
Sipping water and allowing it to stay in the mouth and then passing through the food pipe helps the alkaline saliva reach the stomach to neutralise acid levels in the stomach. Chugging water directly through a bottle causes water to run down the throat, missing out on carrying saliva to the stomach.
Getting fluids into your body right after your wake up will help your body flush out toxins first thing in the morning. Your brain tissue is 75% water. When you're not properly hydrated, your brain operates on less fuel, and you can feel drained, or experience fatigue or mood fluctuations.
Using rat models, McGill University researchers pointed out "a surge in water intake during the last two hours before sleep." The study notes that this thirst mechanism isn't triggered by dehydration. In other words, you don't actually need to hydrate before bed (provided you've already met your daily fluid intake).
A simple way to gauge your level of hydration is to pay attention to the color of your urine. If your urine is very dark and has a strong odor, you are definitely dehydrated and should increase your water intake. If your urine is completely clear, you are likely drinking too much.