Introduction
In this entry, I aim to find out the amount of water I drink daily and compare it with the recommended daily water intake calculated by a science-based hydration calculator. The fact that I suffer from kidney stones and high uric acid (illnesses caused by/related to deficiency of water) reflects the importance of intake more water for my health. I hope that the process of investigating my current water intake will urge me to drink more water in the future.
The suggested amount of water intake I got from the calculator was 1956ml. During this week, I would drink from the same 500ml water bottle and record the time I finished drinking each bottle.
Statistics Collected
From the statistics that I have collected over the week, I made this bar chart below to show the total amount of water intake for each day. It also reflects the progression of how I was gradually developing a habit.
To find out my intake pattern, the scatter graph, or timelines, below displays the time that I complete the consumption of a bottle (500ml) of water. Each vertical line represents a day from the week, with its bottom being the start of the day (00:00) and the top being the end (24:00).
The density of points in different areas creates a contrast. At around 18:00, most points were plotted, whereas during the first half of the days, not many points were plotted. This reflects that my mealtimes are related to my water intake times as I get thirsty while eating. From this observation, I guess an approach to increase water intake could be to eat more meals (?)
Reflection
In six out of seven days, I have managed to reach and exceed 1956ml of water intake; on average, I drink approximately 2200ml of water per day. From the statistics above, I found out that I do not start drinking water until noon afternoon, as I have the habit of replacing water with coffee or flavored beverages in the morning to make me feel less tired and sleepy. Forcing myself to drink water instead of other drinks would definitely make me healthier, but I guess this would be impossible for me to achieve.
Moreover, I observed an increase in the figure during the first few days; this may be evidence proving that the method of taking records as a way of reminding myself to drink water is effective. However, it is possible that my water intake level will fail to maintain this healthy level and reduce after this week when I stop keeping track of the amount of water I drink.