Beep. Beep. Beeeeep.You roll over and slap your alarm clock, silencing its annoying shriek. It’s time to get your day started, but since you hit snooze you decide to sleep for ten more minutes. You’re just starting to drift off when you once again hear, Beep. Beep. BEEEEP. Okay, now it’s really time for you to get up or else you’ll be late to work.
A soft moan of protest escapes your lips, but you resolutely roll out of bed and stumble into the kitchen. You shield your eyes from the blinding glare of the microwave light illuminating your shadowy kitchen and fumble around in one of your many cabinets, searching for a glass – success. A few steps to the kitchen sink and you slip your cup under the faucet. The water guzzles happily through your water pipes and fills your glass to the brim. You begin drinking and the cool water slides down your throat.
Once you’ve completed your daily ritual of rehydrating your body first thing in the morning, you begin getting ready for work. Your body already feels more awake and you nod happily at the realization you’re ready to face whatever the day may throw your way. Water is a wonderful thing.
But, wait a moment … This all sounds a bit too ideal. Do you really wake up and drink water first thing? Some of you might, but most often we immediately dive into our coffee and other caffeinated beverages. You may claim, “But I need caffeine in order to wake up.” In fact, if you don’t get your coffee you may just end up crawling back in bed. Completely understandable, but I doubt you’ll miss work just because you didn’t get your daily cup of coffee.
There are a slew of witty sayings splashed across the sides of coffee cups. Here are some of the sayings I came across:
Coffee
I’ll be the first to admit when I wake up in the morning I can’t help but look forward to a steaming cup of Joe. A good cup of coffee helps you adjust to the idea of the day ahead. It may be hard to believe, but too much coffee can be bad for your health.
The Good Side of Coffee:
- Reduces your risk of diabetes.
- Fights free radicals.
- Improves memory and cognition.
The Bad Side of Coffee:
- Can increase osteoporosis.
- Causes wrinkles.
- Can actually cause weight gain.
- Conventional coffee is laden with pesticides.
The above mentioned facts were gathered from Care2.com.
Take this quick test to find out if you’re a caffeine addict. You are more likely to experience the beneficial side to coffee as long as you moderate your coffee consumption. Whenever you drink more coffee than the recommended amount you’re more likely to develop a victim of caffeine toxicity.
Check out this article from the Huffington Post to find out more about coffee.
Sugary, Caffeinated Drinks
There are some days where you feel as though the only way you can make it through is by downing a can of sugary energy. I know because I’ve been there, done that. It’s a quick fix, but the sad part is you typically feel worse afterward.
It’s a bit intimidating to realize caffeine, which is quite prevalent in current society, can cause numerous health issues. According to both the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and University of Massachusetts Department of Emergency Medicine, “caffeine can raise blood pressure, disrupt sleep habits, aggravate psychiatric conditions and induce reliance.” I think this is one instance where the phrase, “You can never have too much of a good thing,” is quite misleading.
Caffeine is considered a natural stimulant, but there are severe consequences for those who take too much. In some cases this can mean death. You’ve probably heard some of the news stories about people dying from drinking too many energy drinks. It’s a scary thought, but energy drinks can kill if you aren’t careful. Too much caffeine consumption in a short amount of time “can cause caffeine intoxication that leads to a fast heartbeat, vomiting, seizure and death.”
In 2011, the American Association of Poison Control Centers reported there were 1,610 exposures to caffeine toxicity through energy drinks. The really scary part is “the majority of these incidents are happening to those under the age of 20.” Luckily, there was only one death reported from caffeine toxicity in 2011.
The following links explain some of the other health risks associated with energy drinks:
The Health Dangers of Energy Drinks
Energy Drinks; Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Drink Them
Battle Rages Between Medics and Beverage Industry Over Energy Drinks
Why Drink Water?
Water is essential to your well-being. In fact, water is important to all living things not just humans. Did you know water makes up more than half of your body weight? A whopping 60 percent of the human body is composed of water. Many of the functions our body performs require water.
Our bodies need water to:
- Digest food. Water helps dissolve nutrients so they can pass through the intestinal cell walls into your bloodstream, and move food along through your intestinal tract.
- Carry waste products out of your body.
- Provide a medium in which biochemical reactions such as metabolism (digesting food, producing energy, and building tissue) occur.
- Send electrical messages between cells so your muscles can move, your eyes can see, your brain can think, and so on.
- Regulate body temperature – cooling your body with moisture (perspiration) that evaporates on your skin.
- Lubricate your moving parts.
The above mentioned facts were gathered from Dummies.com.
The next time you wake up, you should try drinking a glass of water before you begin sipping on your coffee. Studies have shown “drinking water first thing in the morning on an empty stomach purifies the body’s internal system.” Drink more water – it’s good for you!
The really amazing part about the importance of water in our lives is I haven’t even scratched the surface. It’s incredibly easy for us to walk to the kitchen sink, turn on the faucet and be rewarded with sanitized water. Sadly, this isn’t the case for most of the world. Next time you get a glass of water be thankful you have easy access to such a valuable commodity.
