UK students
Students undertake hydration research
UK based bottled water manufacturer Willow Water has recently completed a joint initiative with Morecambe Community High School (MCHS) to provide free water for a school project to test the benefits of drinking water among pupils. The results showed that there was a statistically significant overall improvement in concentration levels, according to the company which also claims the eponymous branded water can improved the student’s skin conditions.
Students were asked to drink 1.5 litres of Willow Water each per day including weekends and to complete before and after questionnaires. Their parents and teachers were also asked to complete questionnaires both before the ‘trial’ started and at the end. These questionnaires were designed to monitor student concentration levels.
The project with MCHS ended recently and the results showed that drinking more (Willow) water definitely had a positive effect on concentration levels with 48% of the pupils noticing an improvement. A further 42% noticed a positive improvement in their level of excitability and 38% felt their anger control had improved. Throughout the trial several teachers reported that during the afternoon sessions the children were able to stay on task for longer periods of time. The school used the trial in a selection of lessons including statistics, science and maths. The psychology students also looked at the effects of hydration and some of the teachers also participated.
Philip Sinclair, Chemistry and Science teacher at Morecambe School is delighted with the trial. “The trials went well although distribution of the water was hard work! There was a buzz in the whole school about it – in fact I had kids approach me in the corridor wanting to take part.” The results are in line with government recommendations which state that children should drink at least 1.5 – 2 litres of water per day. Water makes up about 80% of the brain and is an essential element in neurological transmissions.
Poor hydration adversely affects a child’s mental performance and symptoms include tiredness, headaches reduced alertness and ability to concentrate. Mental performance, including memory, attention and concentration, deteriorates progressively as the degree of dehydration increases.
MCHS is encouraging the children to maintain their water consumption so that this may reflect positively in their GCSE results.
Water
Water - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the chemical substance. For its chemical and physical properties, see water (molecule). For other uses, see Water (disambiguation).
Water in three states: Liquid, solid (ice), and (invisible) vapor in air. Clouds are droplets of liquid, condensed from water vapor.
Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life.[1] In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or state, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor. About 1.460 petatonnes (Pt) of water covers 71% of the Earth's surface, mostly in oceans and other large water bodies, with 1.6% of water below ground in aquifers and 0.001% in the air as vapor, clouds (formed of solid and liquid water particles suspended in air), and precipitation.[2] Some of the Earth's water is contained within man-made and natural objects near the Earth's surface such as water towers, animal and plant bodies, manufactured products, and food stores.
Saltwater oceans hold 97% of surface water, glaciers and polar ice caps 2.4%, and other land surface water such as rivers, lakes and ponds 0.6%. Water moves continually through a cycle of evaporation or transpiration (evapotranspiration), precipitation, and runoff, usually reaching the sea. Winds carry water vapor over land at the same rate as runoff into the sea, about 36 Tt per year. Over land, evaporation and transpiration contribute another 71 Tt per year to the precipitation of 107 Tt per year over land. Some water is trapped for varying periods in ice caps, glaciers, aquifers, or in lakes, sometimes providing fresh water for life on land. Clean, fresh water is essential to human and other life. However, in many parts of the world - especially developing countries - it is in short supply. Water is a solvent for a wide variety of chemical substances.
Bottled water sales dry up
Bottled water sales dry up
Deborah Linton
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1048532_bottled_water_sales_dry_up?rss=yes?rss=yes
SALES of bottled water are down - and campaigners for tap water say it is a sign of things to come.
The announcement of the 6.2 per cent drop in sales comes as the M.E.N-backed Tap Into Water campaign gathers momentum.
More consumers are taking a stand against the high prices and devastating cost to the environment of bottled water.
And this is proved by industry journal The Grocer revealing that sales of mineral water were down by £289m last year - boosting the argument that tap water is just as good.
The M.E.N is backing calls for householders across Greater Manchester to turn back to their tap water supply in a bid to reduce the three billion bottles of mineral water used every year.
The plastic bottles take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade and valuable energy is used up creating and transporting them.
We came out in support of United Utilities' Tap Into Water campaign last month and have gained high-profile backers including the country's most senior politicians - Gordon Brown, Conservative leader David Cameron and Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg.
Dozens of MPs have signed a motion from Manchester Blackley MP Graham Stringer who has led calls to dump mineral water in the House of Commons, which buys an estimated 250,000 bottles a year.
Mr Stringer said the new figures were setting a trend.
Embarressed
He said: "I think there will be bigger falls in sales in the coming years as drinking bottled water goes out of fashion and people become embarrassed about buying it.
"This is just a sign of things to come."
And even bottled water companies agree.
Britvic's Murray Harris said: "If I was a betting man I'd say the trend was going towards more natural products and reduced packaging."
And it seems people are happy with their water as it comes - with sales of cordial also down six per cent, according to The Grocer.
The figures do not account for drinks sold in pubs, clubs and restaurants but they do take in to account sales in grocery shops and newsagents.
The slump reflects a poor year across the drinks market in the 12 months to January 2008.
This has been put down in part to last summer's bad weather, although smoothies and fruit juices gained popularity among health-conscious consumers, the figures show.
In the wake of the Tap Into Water campaign the prime minister last month ordered all Downing Street departments to replace bottled with tap water by the summer.
The decision could leave some peers and MPs red faced after they refused to ditch bottled water in favour of the tap on `hygiene' grounds.
Chris Matthews, of United Utilities, said: "If more and more people are turning on the tap as an alternative to bottled water, that can only be excellent news for the environment."
What do you think? Have your say.
PUR Genius
http://www.purwater.com/thirstyforchange/
GREEN BEAT Cindy Crawford: Break the Bottled Water Habit Challenge First off, I wanted to say thank you for joining me on my eco-journey with vanityfair.com this month. I feel like my “Green IQ” has been kicked up a notch with all the attention on the environment lately. From beach cleanups to farmers’ markets to simply changing the type of light bulb you use, there really are easy changes each of us can make for the health of our planet. And one of my favorite things about trying to live a little greener is how it can involve the whole family. We’ve made it into a household effort and I love seeing how our eco-enthusiasm and knowledge has grown over time. It really is amazing to see how quickly making one small change can lead to you wanting to do more.
Moms are always concerned about their children’s safety and well-being. It’s our job! And it’s one of the most demanding jobs in the world. Throw eco-concern into the mix and it can become a bit overwhelming. That’s why starting small is so important. You might remember that I mentioned reusable water bottles in my first post. It’s really one of the simplest habits that everyone can have and make a huge impact. So I hope that all of you will visit my Web site www.thirstyforchange.com, which launches today, to join in on PUR’s Break the Bottled Water Habit Challenge. It’s a call to action for all of us to decrease on our plastic-bottled-water consumption. Did you know that last year more than 38 billion plastic water bottles were discarded? By just making the simple switch to a reusable bottle and filtered water, each one of us can help significantly reduce this number.
I hope you all can join me in my challenge and take that first step toward living a cleaner, and greener, lifestyle. It doesn’t take much to make a difference for our environment, but it does mean we all have to work together. Hopefully, today, you’ll be inspired to make that one little change that will set you off on the path to your own eco-awakening. Thanks to everyone for reading!
Scaremongering
Every now and again something gets my back up!
Now the world seems to be a very dangerous place, especially if you believe every health scare ever published, you would spend your life working out what food was safe from what wasn't. So when the Daily Mail starts publishing stories of Tap Water killing you...I get a bit sceptical to say the least.
The story talks about Britain in the 1800's when people drank out of rivers, and disease was rife but cures were undiscovered. Todays tap water is rigorously tested and is probably safer than most bottled waters. They also mention Toxoplasmosis, that can be water borne, but exposure at normal levels means we develop an immunity, and most humans have been exposed to it (88% of French people are carriers and about 22% of people in the UK).
At least he is not suggesting we switch to bottles, but we should fit a filter at home. I agree, but I'm not sure sensationalising water-borne diseases of yesteryear is the right way to go about it!