In an effort to encourage students to stay hydrated, CWU has paired with Total Wellness to offer the program “Water You Waiting For?” Students are given a free water bottle and can gain a prize through a point system for participating.

In the self-guided program, students have the opportunity to wrack up 200 points over roughly 25 days. However long it takes the student, reaching 200 points will make them eligible for a prize.

To help students keep track of how much water they consume, they can get a free time-stamp water bottle when they sign up. The stamps are time tracking marks printed on the outside of the container to help space drinking throughout the day. 

Shana Kessler, the intramural sports and special events coordinator, said keeping hydrated impacts a person’s physical and mental state and can improve an individual’s performance. 

“As small as 2% of a reduction in your water intake can lead to a 20% decrease in your mental and physical performance,” Kessler said. “That’s your ability to focus, your ability to stay energized.”

For those who don’t like the taste of water, Kessler recommends trying different temperatures of water, adding flavors or trying seltzer waters. Although there are ways to improve the water’s taste, it is important not to add too much and ruin the benefits that could be gained from drinking plain water. 

“People often think that if they’re drinking something liquid that they’re still getting their water intake, and that’s not necessarily true,” Kessler said.

While participating in the program, students will receive weekly tips to help encourage them and introduce them to fun facts about water. To further supplement this, Kessler said there are plenty of free apps on the market that remind you to drink water throughout your day. 

“It can be very motivating to those people who are driven by that idea of competition or accountability,” Kessler said.

To date, roughly 30 people have signed up every quarter. 

“Sometimes it’s the same people because they want to keep going and that idea of competition motivates them to maintain that activity,” Kessler said.

CWU chose to work with the pre-existing program, Total Wellness, when the pandemic started so anyone, anywhere can participate and have the opportunity to access it. In the future, the school hopes to continue hosting virtual and in-person activities like family day and walking challenges. 

Kessler hopes to host nutritional and cooking based activities that will allow students to get creative with cooking in a dorm space.

“I think we will see these events sticking around for the long-term. I think they are really uniquely designed in ways that … students who may have been only online students when they joined Central can still participate in,” Kessler said.