My family and I love to be outside: this is especially true in the summer months. On any given day you will find us working in the yard, hiking at a park, biking trails, or camping. Over the years we have fine-tuned our trips to make sure we have snacks, a small first aid kit, sun screen, a small flash light, and a few other miscellaneous items. But most importantly water! Lots and lots of water.

Recently over Christmas break we had some unusually warm weather, so I took advantage of it to get the kids out of the house and we headed up to Addison Oak County Park to hike some of the trails. When we got back, I was unloading our gear from the truck and I was surprised at how much water we had drank considering the fact that it was only 45-50 degrees Fahrenheit outside. Out of curiosity I decided to look-up how much water we should drink during the winter months. During my search I ran across an interesting article written by the City of Cleveland Water Department with some data from the Water Research Foundation so I thought I would share this with you:

The average adult should be drinking about 8-8 oz glasses of water (64 oz total) a day. This total does not change during the winter months! Often we do not feel sweat and thirst in the winter because of the colder temperatures, but other cold weather symptoms such as dry and cracked skin, chapped lips, and dry throats are indicators telling us that we need to drink more water.

Here are a few suggestions on how to stay hydrated during the winter:

• Drink water even when you aren’t thirsty
• Drink warm drinks. They can help regulate body temperature as well as hydrate you
• Eat high water content foods such as berries, melons, green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, and cucumbers
• Avoid diuretics such as alcohol and pop (soda for all the non-Michiganders). These drinks deplete the body of water
• Carry a reusable water bottle. Make it easy to bring water with you wherever you go

Happy drinking!

Rob Cox, Sewer Crew Leader, Department of Public Works