Water is considered as one of the most important substances of human body. Basically it is colourless, odourless, tasteless and transparent liquid, which serves numerous health benefits.

Health benefits

Role on preventing dehydration

• Dehydration is a severe health complication characterized by fluid deficiency in body, which is generally caused by excessive fluid loss due to some illness or excessive sweating or inadequate water consumption
• We know that our body is composed of about 75% of water and water plays numerous important roles in body and it is essentially required for survival thus its deficiency (dehydration) is very much harmful for health
• It has seen that mild dehydration may cause headache, constipation and lethargy but severe dehydration may cause brain swelling, seizures, renal failure and even may lead to death also thus it is better to drink enough fluid for preventing these harmful consequences of fluid deficiency

Role on eliminating waste

• Water plays imperative role in facilitating the process of waste elimination
• We know that body excretes waste products through urine, stool and sweat and body also uses water for urination, bowel movements and sweating
• Kidney helps to filter out waste by promoting urination and proper water consumption helps the kidney to work effectively

• Body also needs enough water for healthy stool formation
• Whereas, proper sweating is responsible for regulating body temperature especially during exercising or in hot temperature

Role on regulating body temperature

• Water plays crucial role in maintaining body temperature
• It has seen that during hot environment body losses water through sweat, which ultimately helps to cool the body
• It is better to drink plenty of water for replenishing the water, which has lost through sweating otherwise it will increase the body temperature
• Basically water is stored within the middle layers of skin, which comes to the surface of the skin as sweat when body heats up and eventually it helps to cool the body when it evaporates and if there is deficiency of water occurred then the heat storage get increased, which makes an individual less able to tolerate heat strain thus proper hydration is very much essential for decreasing physical strain if heat stress occurs

Role on physical performance

• Staying hydrated is thought to be one of the most important features that helps to increase energy level, thermoregulation, it also improves movement and recovery, all of which are closely associated with improving physical performance
• Drinking enough water during physical activity is very much beneficial as it helps to replace the water that lost during sweating thus plays significant role in reducing the risk of developing heat stress and also helps to maintain normal muscle function thus increases endurance

• It helps to improve power as well as strength thus maximizes physical performance
• Inadequate intake of water during exercise is accountable for developing dehydration, which may develop serious health complications like hypotention, hyperthermia and in severe condition it may cause death also thus it is better to hydrate the body during physical exercise

Role on nervous system

• It has seen that hydration status of body is closely associated with influencing the functionality of nervous system
• It helps to promote the synthesis of neurotransmitters as well as some hormones that play significant role in improving brain’s performance
• It also improves cognition as well as concentration
• Deficiency of water may cause memory loss thus consumption of adequate water is very much helpful for improving memory

Role on renal health

• Proper water consumption is extremely helpful for promoting renal health as it helps to support the kidney to produce proper urine
• It also helps to reduce the susceptibility of developing kidney stones. As adequate water consumption is closely associated with increasing the volume of urine thus it helps to dilute the concentration of minerals within it, which helps to prevent them from clumping up or from becoming crystalline as a result the prevalence of stone formation is greatly reduced

Role on weight management

• It plays vital role in preventing obesity
• As it helps to boost up the metabolic process of the body thus it helps in proper weight management
• Consumption of warm water especially in empty stomach significantly improves the metabolic rate of the body that promotes weight reduction
• It has seen that consumption of water before meal decreases overeating by providing a feeling of fullness thus facilitates weight reduction

Role on saliva production

• Water is considered as the main component of saliva, which plays vital role in promoting mouth health and digesting boiled starch
• It has seen that body produces adequate saliva with proper and regular fluid intake thus adequate water consumption is believed to be an imperative feature for maintaining proper salivation
• It also helps to keep the mouth clean
• Deficiency of saliva is accountable for making the mouth dry, which may cause friction and damages thus it is better to consume enough fluid for keeping the mouth moist

Role on digestive health

• Water consumption has a relation with digestive health
• It has seen that proper water consumption helps to promote digestion and also improves the absorption of nutrients
• It helps to prevent acidity
• It also inhibits flatulence
• Water consumption is very effective for promoting regularity. It has seen that water plays vital role in maintain proper bowel movement, which is closely related with preventing constipation

Role on preventing headache

• Proper water consumption plays significant role in preventing headache 
• It also helps to improve the symptoms of migraine
• It has seen that hydration is closely related with decreasing the frequency of headaches

Role on preventing hangover

• Hangover is generally defined as the symptoms, which is experienced by an individual after consuming alcohol
• Being a diuretic substance, alcohol is responsible for loosing water that ultimately leads to dehydration, which is considered as one of the most important causes of hangover
• Drinking of water before bed significantly reduces hangover

Role on mental health

• Staying hydrated is very much helpful for promoting overall mental health status
• It has seen that proper consumption of water is associated with regulating the synthesis of cortisol hormone, which helps to control the stress level of body
• It helps to improve mood as well

Other health benefits

• It acts like lubricant thus proper water consumption is related with lubricating the joints and significantly improves the symptoms of arthritis

• It also helps to protect the spinal cord from damages
• It helps to boost up the metabolism too, which provides a positive impact on the energy level of body
• It also helps to make the skin hydrated and also stimulates collagen formation thus proper water consumption is very effective for improving skin health
• It helps to prevent hypertension as well
• It helps to maintain water balance of the body
• Proper water consumption significantly improves blood circulation, which helps to promote the supply of oxygen as well as nutrients throughout the body

General consideration of consuming water

• Males should consume about 3.7 L of water per day whereas females should consume 2.7 L of water daily
• Negative water balance may cause dehydration and positive water balance may cause water intoxication thus the amount of water intake should be balanced with water output

Dennis, E.A., Dengo, A.L., Comber, D.L., Flack, K.D., Savla, J., Davy, K.P. and Davy, B.M., 2010. Water consumption increases weight loss during a hypocaloric diet intervention in middle‐aged and older adults. Obesity, 18(2), pp.300-307.

Eyal, A., Staying hydrated is crucial to powering your workouts and maintaining a healthy weight. Use this calculator to find out how many cups of water you should drink each day.

Hunter, P.R., Zmirou-Navier, D. and Hartemann, P., 2009. Estimating the impact on health of poor reliability of drinking water interventions in developing countries. Science of the total environment, 407(8), pp.2621-2624.

Moreno, M.A., 2016. New information about the benefits of drinking water compared with sugar-sweetened beverages. JAMA pediatrics, 170(3), pp.304-304.

Pruss-Ustun, A. and World Health Organization, 2008. Safer water, better health: costs, benefits and sustainability of interventions to protect and promote health. World Health Organization.

Shophana, R., 2018. Staying hydrated-A physiological approach. Asian Journal of Multidimensional Research (AJMR), 7(2), pp.977-980.

Tarulli, K., Bales, D. and Wallinga, C., 2014. Drinking water is important.