Nutrition · Protocol 2 of 7
Drink most of your water early
1In 30 seconds
Drink about 530 to 710 ml of water as soon as you wake, before your chai or coffee. Aim for roughly 2.4 litres across your first ten waking hours. Then ease off in the evening so you sleep through the night.
2Picture it
3Why do it
- 1
Even mild dehydration can blunt your focus, memory and mood before you notice any thirst.
- 2
Your kidneys work best in daytime, so drinking early means fewer night-time trips to the toilet.
- 3
Good hydration helps you train harder, recover faster and lowers your risk of kidney stones.
4How to do it
- On waking, drink about 530 to 710 ml (18 to 24 ounces) of water before any tea, coffee or food.
- Keep sipping so you reach about 2.4 litres (80 ounces) across your first ten waking hours, roughly one or two glasses an hour.
- During exercise, follow the Galpin Equation: about 2 ml per kilogram of body weight every 15 to 20 minutes. A 68 kg person needs about 150 ml each time, or 450 to 600 ml an hour.
- If you sweat heavily, train in heat or sit in a sauna, raise your exercise amount by 50 to 100 percent and add a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon.
- If you drink more than two strong coffees a day (over 200 to 400 mg of caffeine), push your water up towards 2.4 to 3 litres.
- In the evening, drink less and sip slowly rather than gulping, so your bladder fills more gently overnight.
5Make it work in India
- In May and June heat, or in a hot classroom or kitchen, you will need more than 2.4 litres. Nimbu pani with a pinch of salt and no sugar, or a glass of salted chaas, helps replace the salt you sweat out.
- Keep a filled steel or clay bottle on your desk, and drink only boiled, filtered or purified water to avoid stomach infections.
- Have your bed tea or filter coffee after the morning glass of water, not instead of it.
6The long read: the science2 min read · tap to open
Your body is roughly 62 percent water, and nearly every process inside you needs it. Water carries nutrients, cools you through sweat and keeps your blood flowing to the brain.
When you run even a little low, things slip. A drop of just 2 percent of body weight through water loss is enough to lower mood, raise tiredness and blunt alertness. Mild dehydration can even shrink brain volume slightly and reduce blood flow, which means less oxygen for your thinking. The tricky part is that you can be low on water without feeling thirsty.
Drinking water also gives a small lift. It nudges the alert side of your nervous system and can release norepinephrine, a chemical that sharpens focus.
Why front-load your water? Your kidneys follow a daily clock. They filter fluid best from morning through to their peak in mid-afternoon, and they are slowest around midnight. Drink most of your water while they are at their best, and you are less likely to wake up needing the toilet, a common cause of broken sleep.
Caffeine makes you pass more urine and also pushes out sodium. That is why strong coffee can leave some people shaky or light-headed. Sipping water with a tiny bit of salt next to your coffee often fixes it.
Good evidence Studies show that losing even 2 percent of your body weight as water dulls mood, focus and energy, but the exact amounts and timing here are sensible guides rather than tested rules.
Questions people ask
How do I know if I’m drinking enough?
Urine colour and the skin-pinch test are rough guides at best, because many things affect them. The book’s advice is simpler: drink the planned amounts rather than wait for a sign.
Do chai and coffee count?
Partly. Caffeine makes you pass more urine, so you still need plain water on top. If coffee leaves you shaky, try sipping water with a little salt in it at the same time.
I still wake up to pee at night. What now?
Waking once a night is normal. Drink well in the day, cut back in the evening and sip slowly. If you still wake often, see your doctor, as it can point to a bladder or prostate problem.
7Be careful
If you have kidney disease, heart failure or a fluid limit set by your doctor, follow your doctor’s numbers instead. Drinking large amounts of plain water quickly during long, sweaty exercise can dilute the salt in your blood, so add some salt or electrolytes when you sweat a lot.
8Try it for 7 days
Tap a day each time you hit my daytime water goal.
From the book: “Stay Hydrated” (Nutrition Protocol 2). Evidence rating and India notes are our own.