Hydration
Drinking Water Before Bed
Rough consensus: Stop drinking an hour or two before bed, don't chug but rather drink a moderate amount
Still probably could do more research here. Might be better to drink even before bed, if you don't have trouble waking up in the night to pee. But that could be worse for sleep quality too... 🤷🏼♂️
A consensus that drinking water and staying hydrated throughout the day is best
Lessens the need for water at night, which can wake you up to pee in the middle of the night
If you’re the type of sleeper who is always tossing and turning because you’re either freezing or overheating, having a glass of water before bed may help (source)
Consensus: If you were dehydrated during the day, it's pretty much always better to drink enough water at night -- even if that results in you having to wake up to pee
Drinking Hot / Warm Water
tl;dr: May help keeping warm. No convincing research really for other benefits. "Cool" water best for rehydration.
NOTE: There are some sites that seem to suggest hot water before bed benefits you in things like metabolism and digestion. But these all end up being unsubstantiated once you dig in deeper.
Most health benefits of hot water are based on anecdotal reports, as there’s little scientific research in this area. That said, many people feel benefits from this remedy, especially first thing in the morning or right before bed. (source)
May relieve nasal congestion (source)
When drinking hot beverages, research recommends an optimal temperature of between 130 and 160°F (54 and 71°C). (source)
Although some evidence shows that cool water is best for rehydration, drinking water at any temperature will help keep you hydrated (source)
Researchers found that drinking the hot water quickly helped the subjects put less work into maintaining their body temperature (source)
Taking a warm bath helps your circulatory organs — your arteries and veins — expand and carry blood more effectively throughout your body. Drinking hot water may have a similar effect. However, there’s little research that this is effective. (source)
Drinking warm water before bed is a great way to wind down after a busy day. Knowing about the health benefits will have you sleeping soundly. (source)
Apparently, your body gets the water to its internal temp before it does anything with it. Saw one comment saying "within 5 minutes". If true, this would pretty much debunk the claims that it can help with things like e.g. digestion
Some claim that water far from internal body temp is marginally better for metabolism, because your body has to spend more energy to get it to the body's internal temp
Notes
Don't chug, if you chug your body flushes it out faster and doesn't use it properly. (source)
Unsubstantiated: Don't drink a ton before eating, you will dilute stomach acids. (source)
Unsubstantiated: Drink more room temperature/hot water than cold. Save cold for the summer. (source)
May help relieve constipation (source)
May aid digestion (source)
Research from 2019 has shown that drinking water can improve central nervous system activity, as well as mood. This research showed that drinking water boosted participants’ brain activity during demanding activities and also reduced their self-reported anxiety. (source)
May improve central nervous system function (source)
For every 30 pounds of body weight, drink 1 ounce of water every 20 minutes of physical or mental work (source: some podcast, probably Huberman or Rogan or Sinclair)
Links
Last updated