Drink up – you need it

Most companies these days have water coolers which may be great as a source of gossip, but they are apparently not being used for their real purpose. Over the last year, Water Wellpoint has checked well over 2,000 individuals in the workplace, providing them with individual health information, as well as confidential reports to management identifying any potential health problems before they become serious.

Water Wellpoint are a company who go into organizations and do a portable health check with a machine that allows employees to check a range of their simple ‘vital signs’ (weight, heart rate, blood pressure, BMI, body fat content and hydration quota). Of the standard checks they found high blood pressure and weight problems, but staggeringly they also found that more than 78% of the people tested were likely to be dehydrated and of these 66% significantly so.

Water is essential for good health and to keep our bodies functioning properly. People at work often complain of headaches and fatigue and these are symptoms of dehydration. Lack of water can lead to dry skin, dry eyes and constipation. Don’t just gossip at the water cooler, drink a decent amount while you are standing there!