An app that reminds you to take a drink? That’s right! When you consider all the thousands of useless apps out there for phones and watches, you might think hydration apps sound like a stupid idea. Yet it could be the smartest and simplest health decision you make this year. But which hydration app is right for you? Here is the first of a two-part series offering some thoughts on some leading apps. This blog is for Apple iPhone or Apple Watch users, soon we’ll release one for Android users.
We all know it - water is 100% necessary for everyone’s health. Our bodies and brains are mostly water. Yet humans are not built with great internal alarm clocks telling us to go and drink. In the workplace, it is very easy for us to power through our work, only to realise that hours have gone by, without taking a sip of anything. Even if you don’t care about your mental performance, staying hydrated is great for your skin, can improve your mood and help you lose weight – so bottoms up!
If you always wait until you feel thirsty before walking to the tap, you are not likely to be operating at peak mental or physical performance. Some people even get headaches or cramps before they feel thirsty.
Chances are you do not need to drink the same amount of water as the person sitting next to you, even if you are both office-bound. Of course, if you drank alcohol last night, or if you’re planning a big gym workout later, you’ll need more water now.
Just as your water needs are different, there are lots of different of different hydration apps. Here are three apps we like that the moment that are available for both Apple iPhone and Watch users. They are ranked in order of their App Store rankings.
My Water Balance
By Victor Sharov
4.6 Stars App Store (5200 ratings)
Free (offers in app purchases)
Like many of this genre, the app calculates your daily water requirement based on your weight. So getting started is simple, as is registering the drinks you’ve taken. We liked the little motivational awards. We also found this App the quickest when tweaking our goals on days when we knew we should be upping our water intake. What we liked most was in the paid version – which allows you to integrate different types of drinks, even smoothies and yogurt - which we think makes this type of app much more practical for mere mortals like us! Who can expect to reach 100% of your goal by just drinking plain water every day!
Daily Water – Drink Reminder App
by Maxwell Software
Currently 4.6 stars App Store (22 ratings.)
Free (Offers In app purchases
We liked almost everything about this app. It is relatively easy to use, especially setting your goal amount of water to drink for the day. The Apple Watch version is also very easy to use. .Ideally a future update will enable a little more fun with the free incorporation of many other drink types and finding more fun ways of rewarding you for hitting your personal goals. Otherwise, this is a fantastic option for Apple iPhone & Watch users
Drink Water Reminder N Tracker
by Phoenix Games
Currently 4.4 stars App Store (1.1k ratings)
Free (Offers In app purchases)
This is the most aesthetically pleasing app that we’ve seen so far. That’s not surprising given that it was made by a games company. That said, there were a few things that we found a bit of a head-scratcher.
Most notably, they use ‘country’ as part of their algorithm to help calculate the amount of water they recommend for consumption. How could someone that lives in Darwin be grouped in with someone that lives in Hobart? We particularly like the bedtime mode for this app, avoiding the chance that you’ll get annoying reminders when you’re looking at the back of your eyelids.
Regardless of which app you choose, we’re sure you’ll start drinking more water if you stick to using one. As a more frequent user of your filtered water system, you might consider upgrading your system, or notice it needs some maintenance. Get a free independent opinion, and get a quote on any brand from AquaClear between 7am-5pm eastern on 1300 070 007.