STRUGGLING TO DRINK ENOUGH WATER? TRY THESE 5 NEURODIVERGENT-FRIENDLY TIPS
Staying hydrated when you're neurodivergent can be harder than it sounds, especially if you forget to drink, don’t always notice thirst cues, or struggle with the sensory side of drinking water (particularly common for those with ADHD or autism). That all-too-familiar feeling of your mouth feeling dry, your head feeling fuzzy, and yet the bottle of water you started the day with remains untouched.
Why is it so hard to drink enough water throughout the day? Also, why do some of us need to be SpongeBob SquarePants at Sandy the Squirrel’s house, parched before we even think about reaching for some fluids?
I appreciate not everyone will get the SpongeBob reference, so here is a visual:
Try not to be too hard on yourself. Executive dysfunction can make seemingly simple daily tasks harder to keep on top of, including remembering to drink regularly.
Here are 5 neurodivergent-friendly tips to help you hydrate better.
Buy different bottles and drinking cups
Not only does this help you keep things fresh, it also helps match your vibe for the day.
Things to consider:
Cups that keep drinks hot or cold
Cups and water bottles that have straws
Your favourite colours
Something with a little texture
Buying a straw
These will offer different options for any sensory preferences you may have.
Water-rich foods
Drinks aren’t our only source of hydration; we can get around a fifth of our fluid needs through food. Even cooked pasta has some water! But your best bet for upping your fluid intake is to incorporate water-rich foods. Enter: fruits and vegetables.
Tinned, pre-prepped, and frozen fruits and vegetables can be a really helpful low spoon option. Chop, blend, or even pair up and make a tasty food combo. It will all count towards your daily fluid intake.
Habit Stack it
Or I should say routine stack it. As I want you to think beyond “habits” in the classical sense and look for daily routines, transitions, and repeated activities. Every day may look different, but there are some activities and routines that we do on most days.
Here are some generic ones to help you think:
Waking up in the morning. Bonus tip: the earlier you start, the better. Have some water beside your bed or start your day with a hot drink.
Leaving the house, travelling to work, coming home. Use at least one of these moments as an opportunity to get some hydration in.
Before, during, and after meetings/appointments. I’ve been known to have both a hot and cold drink with me during my client sessions. Sometimes I can’t tell which one I’ll be drawn to, but I know one of them will come in handy. Doing that 10 mins before meetings (if your schedule allows) is also a nice way to ground yourself. You can either pop it in your diary or set a 10-min reminder for the meeting itself, and use that as your cue to prepare your drink.
Alongside your meds/supplements. Take in a decent amount of water with your meds or supplements, as opposed to the bare minimum that just about helps you swallow them.
Make it part of your wind-down routine. Have a decaffeinated drink before bed. I love sipping a relaxing herbal sleep tea blend in the evenings. Tag that onto your nighttime reading/journaling, or as a peaceful pause to let the day go before bed.
The main thing is to find natural anchor points in your day to tag onto. Some will stick after a while and some may not. Experiment and see what works for you.
Make it palatable (zhush it up)
During each weekly shop, I make sure to include what I call “nice drinks”. For the most part, I drink water, tea or coffee. I don’t think any of these are “not nice,” but they do get boring.
For some of us, novelty makes something mundane more interesting, and sometimes familiarity makes it easier. When I see my water is just sitting there not somehow drinking itself (rude), I know it’s time to break out the “nice drink”.
Having said that, if what you’re drinking isn’t palatable, it’s going to be challenging to reach for it throughout the day…Everyday!
Taste: Add flavour with cordial, fruit or herbs, and try different flavours or brands.
Texture: Still, sparkling/fizzy, smooth or thicker drinks like smoothies.
Temperature: Room temperature, fridge-cold, ice-cold, warm or hot.
You may find these change during different seasons. Or that different drinks work on different days when you are feeling over- or understimulated.
Create a regular check-in
I didn’t need to tell you why it’s important to drink enough fluids in this blog, but do you know why it’s important to YOU? We needn’t scaremonger, guilt or shame ourselves into making any change in our lives.
Instead, I invite you to think about the bigger picture: What does being well hydrated help you do, feel or make easier to manage? Use the regular check-in to figure out what makes things easier for you and what makes hydrating more challenging.
If it helps, you can tell someone about what you’re working on and check in with them. I recently did this with a friend to help me wear my retainer at night. Just knowing I was going to let her know how I was getting on helped me to (eventually) wear my retainer (most nights).
I’m big on normalising support, interdependence and community as normal parts of being human. If we’re struggling with anything, no matter how big or small, we can help each other.
One final bonus tip: don’t get caught up in all-or-nothing thinking. I have lost count of how many times I have filled a bottle of water before leaving the house only to leave it on the kitchen counter. Or my best trick, taking the bottle of water with me for a day out but never actually drinking it (to be fair to me, that hasn’t happened in a while). Rather than writing off the rest of the day, pick up from where you left off and take that next sip.
We’re not aiming for perfection; some days will be easier than others. Right, let’s go and make ourselves something to drink.
