5 Ways to Get the Most Value Out of Your WaterCare Trial

In addition to the awesome convenience of a contract-free, bottleless, hassle-free drinking water solution, WaterCare is a great way to help your team stay well-hydrated by making it easy and fun to drink more water.

We’ve often mentioned that independent studies show how proper hydration can have a positive impact on team productivity, mood and decision-making (if you haven’t read about this yet, check out our recent article here). So, it’s in your best interest to make sure they get the full benefit of WaterCare by encouraging them to drink more water, more often.

If you’re a business client on a WaterCare Trial, here are a few quick tips to start on the patch to better hydration with Strauss WaterCare:

1 – Get ready, Get Set

A certified technician will set everything up for you. But to get the most convenience and enjoyment, you should give some thought to the customization of your WaterBar settings so the technician will be able to truly personalize your WaterCare experience:

Temperature – Since each temperature setting can be fully customized, take a moment to analyze how the water will be used by you and your team. For example, if there are a lot of tea drinkers in your office, customizing the hot and boiling hot features will be a big benefit to get the perfect temperature to brew tea:

• If you like green tea, use the hot water setting around 96°C since a higher temperature can make green tea taste grassy or bitter. Certain varieties of green tea require an even lower setting. The same goes for white tea.

• Black tea drinkers will prefer the hotter boiling setting at around 99°C, which is also the case for herbal tea

• Those who like to make instant soup and oatmeal will want a higher temperature as well.

• If you have a daycare center at the office (or for home use if you’re a new parent), you can take the guesswork and waiting out of preparing baby formula by pre-setting the ideal temperature and there’s no need to boil and sterilize the water.

Cup size — You can customize the serving size to fit your most common cup or glass size. This is great for avoiding overflowing and messy clean ups.

Jug fill setting – Here’s a convenient way to promote hydration, cut down on the trips to the water dispenser and long wait times. Our WaterBars come with a convenient automatic jug-fill setting that can also be customized. No need to hold down the button to fill. Set it to the most common size of water bottle. Strauss Water can also provide standard water bottles to your team to make sure everyone stays hydrated.

Energy-saver wake time – the energy-saver settings can be set to start up the boiler at pre-set times of the day when it is in most use. If you’re office starts at 8am, you can make sure the water is at peak temperature the minute you walk through the door.

2 – Show your team the ropes

Start your trial with a quick how-to orientation for your team – like any cool technology, it’s important for everyone to understand how to get the most out of the many features. The WaterCare technician can cover the key functions and features in detail.

3 – Make it clear that there are no limits

The key to getting the most out of WaterCare is to make sure everyone uses it consistently to stay well hydrated. That’s why everything is designed for maximum convenience – including unlimited water for a fixed monthly fee.

4 – There’s an app for that

Encourage everyone at the office to track their progress by keeping a daily hydration log. We should all be drinking 8 glasses of water a day and often fall short. Smartphone apps (like My Water Balance, DrinkMinder, Waterlogged, Hydro Coach, Daily Water and more) help track your progress, send alerts and reminders, and more.

5 – Hold a team hydration challenge

Get everyone to track their hydration. Keep a team scorecard. Give away prizes like new stainless-steel water bottles. Keep it up for a few weeks and before you know it, staying hydrated built into the daily routine.

So, there you have it. Five simple tips to help you and your team get the most out of your WaterCare trial. The key is to make it accessible, encourage use, explain the benefits and soon you’ll be reaping the rewards of a healthy, hydrated and high-performance team.


Related content:

Productivity and hydration – Why Your Team Works Better on Water

Top Ten Ways to Get Your Team to Drink More Water

The top ten ways to get your team to drink more water

Hydration at work: What it can mean for your business:

Ever noticed how you sometimes feel sluggish in the afternoon – what’s commonly called the afternoon slump? You feel tired, irritable and you can’t seem to think things through. Part of that is caused by mild dehydration – 1% to 2% of your body weight that evaporates from breathing, perspiration and from consuming diuretic beverages like coffee and energy drinks.

Making sure your team gets enough water is not only important for their wellness, but it can have a very real impact on productivity, creativity and team spirit. But getting your team to drink more water can feel like herding cats. Here are some tips you can share with everyone to get them pointed in the right direction.

  1. 1 – Keep a water bottle handy

    Work water into your day – rituals are an important part of getting more done. A little structure makes things become automatic. So, creating water triggers in your schedule by pairing a glass of water with common activities makes it easier. After 3-4 weeks, the behavior becomes engrained in your schedule and it becomes easy to maintain.

For example, a neat way to help drink more water is to bring a tall glass or a reusable bottle to every meeting you attend. As an added bonus, water helps you focus and maintain your attention while sitting through a lengthy discussion or a tedious budget meeting.

  1. 2 – Size matters

    Take a page from packaged goods manufacturers and big box warehouse stores. It’s common knowledge that bigger containers make you consume more. So grab the biggest glass or reusable bottle you can find (and that’s convenient to carry around – buckets are kind of overkill). Those few extra gulps will go a long way towards reaching your 2-liter daily goal.

  1. 3 – Use an app or calendar

    There are dozens of health and wellness apps that allow you to track your water consumption and schedule reminders throughout the day. Not a fan of apps? Simply use your calendar to set recurring reminders at convenient times throughout the day. Or set a 60-minute timer of an hourly hydration break. Drinking a refreshing glass of water will soon become a no-brainer.

  1. 4 – Add flavor to your water

    If you find the taste of water unappealing, add a dash of flair. Turn your water into a flavorful experience by adding natural flavors to your H2O or infusing it with berries, citrus, mint or a combination of delicious thirst quenching delights. You can flavor ice cubes and add a tasty and refreshing one-two punch to your daily water regimen. 

  1. 5 – Location, location, location

    Keep your water dispenser in a convenient location that everyone can access with minimal effort. In a large office, consider multiple water dispensers strategically located in high traffic areas. No need to stay close to a water source: a Strauss WaterBar can be positioned up to 110 feet away from the nearest plumbing.

  2. 6 – Use a straw

    Some water bottles come equipped with a straw for a very good reason. They help you to drink faster, ingest less air and take bigger gulps. Plus, there’s something soothing about using a straw that takes us back to our childhood.

  1. 7 – Drink tea instead of coffee

    Coffee doesn’t deplete your system, but its diuretic effect makes its hydration neutral: You loose about as much as you drink. So it doesn’t actually contribute to your 2 liters a day. Switch to herbal tea, iced tea and other non-caffeinated beverages to help you stay hydrated and reach your daily quota.

  1. 8 – Refill your glass before putting it down

    Let’s face it, we’re all a bit lazy to some degree. So, an empty glass is likely to remain empty because the effort to fill it seems greater than the reward. We’ll wait until we’re really thirsty before leaving our desk and by then it’s often too late. The effects of mild dehydration have already kicked in.

  1. 9 – Get your water every way you can

    A comforting cup of soup or a bowl of oatmeal in winter, a chilled beverage or a slice of watermelon in summer all count towards your hydration goals. Mix it up to keep it interesting.

  1. 10 – Make drinking water convenient

    A multi-use water dispenser (like the Strauss WaterBar) makes it quick, easy and convenient to drink more water. Look for quick-refill settings and higher flow rate to avoid waiting around when refilling a 1 liter bottle.

Multiple temperature settings mean more ways to consume water without the hassles of kettles and microwaves. Room temperature settings make it more comfortable to quickly down a glass of H2O, particularly for those with sensitive teeth, and is easier on digestion.

So, there you have it. The top ten ways to get your people to drink more water. Want to share your own tips for staying hydrated throughout your hectic day? Visit our Facebook page.

To learn more about Strauss WaterCare program and our office drinking water solutions, click here.

Contact a Strauss Water Consultant today for more details

Exercise: How much water should you drink?

(Photo credit: Learn English at DCU/Creative Commons)

Want to pump more weights, run a longer distance or be a better soccer player?

“Practice makes perfect” is one of the best pieces of advice out there for anyone looking to improve their performance, but there’s another habit that all athletes follow – drinking cold water while exercising. It’s simple advice that’s sometimes forgotten.

The warmth you feel while working out is your body working harder, which raises your core body temperature above its normal 37°C. To regulate your body temperature, you sweat. But when you sweat profusely, your body sheds water and electrolytes and once you lose more than two per cent of your body weight, you’re dehydrated and your performance takes a hit.

The warmer your body temperature, the harder it is to focus and combat fatigue. Ignoring the symptoms can result in heat stroke, which is more likely if you’re exercising on a hot day or in a humid environment.

One study discovered that taking sips of cold water before and after your workout improves your endurance by about 23 per cent since less heat accumulates in your body. If you’ve watched the Olympics, you know how much of a difference one or two seconds can make in speed skating event, a 100-kilometre race or a hockey game.

Like many things, moderation is key. Drink too much and your stomach cramps. Drink too little and your body loses its ability to function properly.

The amount of water you drink varies based on many different factors, such as how much a person sweats and how much electrolytes they’ve lost, the type of exercise, the length of exercise time, the weather, the equipment used, metabolism and heat acclimatization.

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, if a 154 pound (70 kg) person does moderate exercise, such as a brisk walk or slow jog, they should drink about 0.6 litres of water per hour.

If you take it up a notch with high intensity exercise, you’ll need to monitor your fluid intake before, during and after your exercise.

Pre-workout: You should be drinking liquids hours before you lift your first dumbbell since this helps your body absorb fluids and retain normal urine levels. Don’t feel thirsty? Eat a small meal or salty snack to encourage your thirst.

How much water should you drink? Before exercising, drink five to ten millilitres (mL) of water for one kilogram of your body weight. This means someone who’s 154 pounds should drink 350 to 700 mL at least four hours before working out.

During workout: Each person loses water at a different rate. To figure out the amount of water you should be drinking, weigh yourself before and after you exercise and replenish your body’s fluids with drinks packed with electrolytes. Carbohydrates will also help balance your electrolytes and boost your performance.

How much water should you drink? Drink six to twelve mL of liquids for one kilogram of your body weight for each hour of exercise. A 154-pound person should drink 400 to 800 mL per hour, which is about three to four servings.

Post-workout: Restore your body’s hydration faster by ingesting drinks and snacks with sodium.

How much water should you drink? For every one kilogram of body mass lost after exercising, drink 1.5 litres of fluid, unless you’ve been working out for hours and replenishing your fluids at the same time.

Don’t worry about having enough hot or cold water stored away with the right water cooler solution. You’ll be saving money and helping the environment too by regularly refilling your water bottle.

Why water is important to World Cup players

(Photo credit: jikatu/Flickr)

The World Cup showcased soccer at its finest with teams duking it out in matches in Brazil over the last four weeks.

The event happens every four years, but before it begins, athletes participate in rigorous preparation. Soccer players focus much of their training on their dribbling and mental prep, but come game time their food and water regimen goes a long way.

Water breaks for the first time

History was made at this year’s World Cup when a water break was imposed for the first time ever during a match. According to ABC News, temperatures soared to a blistering 84 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius) with a humidity index of 70 per cent during the game between US and Portugal, making it difficult for players on both sides who were sweating within minutes of the match’s start. A one-minute water break was called 40 minutes into the game to allow players to rehydrate and cool off before continuing to play.

FIFA was ordered by the Brazilian Court to implement water breaks within 30 minutes of each half when the temperature climbed higher than 32 degrees Celsius on the Wet Bulb Globe temperature index, which measures the amount of heat stress. Although FIFA has its own guidelines related to water breaks, the court felt the ruling was necessary to ensure they followed through. If they didn’t, FIFA organizers would pay the price with a hefty 200,000 Reals ($96,738 CAD) fine for each match.

What causes cramping?

England’s players saw firsthand how not drinking enough water can hurt their game. It was a shame to watch players suffering from cramps during the country’s match up against Italy where the intense humidity in Manaus, a city within the Amazon rainforest, forced them to tone down their playing intensity. The English team’s manager, Roy Hodgson, admitted that players cramped during the second half from lack of hydration. “We’ve worked very hard on that (hydration). We still did cramp up quite a lot,” Hodgson told MLSSoccer.com. “But the tempo of the game was quite fast … It was played at the proper tempo and the heat and humidity did take its toll.”

It’s a little known fact, but it’s common for athletes to be dehydrated, says a Kinesiology professor at the University of Connecticut. If you’ve lost one or two per cent of your body weight to dehydration, it isn’t a big deal, but more than that and your performance takes a hit. England served as an unfortunate example of that.

When dehydrated, the body works harder than it needs to; the heart has to work harder to pump blood to the brain, skin and muscles, and the more weight lost to dehydration, the higher the body’s temperature will rise. For every one per cent of weight lost, the body heats up by 0.15 to 0.20 degrees Celsius; and that’s something you don’t want.

For sports such as track and field or baseball, it’s easier to take a break and drink water, but the same can’t be said about the faster-paced soccer. Also, if you’re from a country that isn’t as humid, the situation is only exacerbated, which was the case for players from dryer/more arid European countries.

A study published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine found that during a 90-minute soccer match, the average amount of sweat ranged from 1,672 to 3,138 ml, but soccer players only replenished about (about 30 ml) of fluid for each pound of body weight a day to keep their bodies in tip top shape.

Proper hydration can make or break a team in any sport; once muscle cramps set in, it’s difficult to recover quickly. After the match, athletes need to take part in contrast bathing, which is when they alternate between bathing in warm water and then cold water for short periods of time to relieve pain and reduce muscle damage. Rest is also a must on the agenda in order to give their bodies the necessary time to recuperate; but this reduces their time to prep for the next match, a disadvantage most players can’t afford.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget the importance of drinking water, especially when you’re competing to win. If you don’t enjoy water’s taste, you’re not alone; why not try a few ways to make it a little bit more bearable? Liquid water enhancers with fun flavours like iced tea or fruit punch will take plain ol’ H2O to the next level and there are also natural ways that pack a flavourful punch and deliver some needed nutrients.

How to avoid dehydration this summer

(Photo credit: Keith Allison/Flickr)

Many people aren’t drinking enough water during a day and they may not realize the effects it has on them.

Recently, Miami Heat’s LeBron James had to be carried off the court during  an NBA finals game due to muscle cramping. The air conditioner broke down during the first game and temperatures climbed above 32.2 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit). After James was pulled off the court, the Miami Heat lost the game. The NBA superstar suffered from dehydration, which led to the painful muscle cramps that left him immobilized. According to the Miami Herald, after the game, his body needed to be hooked up to two bags of fluids, along with taking salt tablets and potassium pills to restore his electrolyte balance.

“My body just shut down,” James told the Miami Herald. “Basically my body said, ‘OK, enough jumping for you for tonight. You’ve had enough.’ Nothing I could do about it.”

What’s dehydration?

Dehydration occurs when the fluids in the body aren’t replenished as quickly as they are lost. When exercising or spending time outdoors in warm weather, people are more likely to experience this since they lose fluids faster through sweat, which is what happened with James. When a person sweats, they are losing more than water, they’re also using electrolytes, such as sodium, potassium and chloride.

Athletes are more likely to experience muscle cramps from dehydration, which leaves the person in excruciating pain and, at times, temporarily unable to use the cramped muscle.

Symptoms of dehydration differ based on its severity. If you have a mild dehydration, some symptoms you’ll notice include sleepiness, exhaustion, thirst,  headache, constipation, dizzy or light-headedness. If you have a more severe case, symptoms can include extreme thirst, sunken eyes,  fever, shriveled skin, low blood pressure, rapid breathing, rapid heartbeat and very little urination when you use the bathroom.

How much water do you need?

Most people are familiar with the age old advice recommending that we drink eight cups of water a day. While that’s close to how much you need, both men and women require a different amount of fluids to stay hydrated. According to the Institute of Medicine, Men should drink about 3.7 litres, while women should drink about 2.7 litres each day.

Note, however, that this is only the recommended amount and things like physical exertion, age, height and weight, among other factors, play into how much water you should be drinking on a daily basis. For example, if you’re exercising or out in the heat you’ll need to drink more liquids since you’ll be losing your water at a faster rate. But, to avoid cramping during a workout, take small sips more frequently.

The easiest way to gauge how hydrated you are is to look at the colour of your urine when you go to the washroom; the lighter it is the more hydrate you are. Dr. Michael Farber explains to MSN Health & Fitness that if your urine comes out colourless similar to how water looks, it means that you’ve been staying hydrated. Whereas, if your urine comes out in a yellow-brown colour similar to the colour of iced tea, this means you’re not drinking enough since your urine is more concentrated.

The majority of a person’s fluids (80 per cent) comes from water or other beverages, while only 20 per cent of it comes from food. Stay hydrated and wherever you go this summer, make sure you pack some water with you.

Strauss Water Canada’s WaterBar is an easy solution for convenient and clean drinking water this summer. Our triple water filtration and purification process kills 99.9% of micro-organisms and bacteria and absorbs the chlorine that can impair the taste of water. Our WaterBars use an activated carbon filter, a micro-mesh filter and ultra violet light to deliver safe, great tasting water, all the while maintaining essential mineral elements including calcium and magnesium.