With the festive season upon us, this will more than likely mean parties, drinking and generally letting ourselves go a little. But keeping hydrated is important.

Your body is mainly made up of water, just over half of a woman and almost two thirds of a man.

Water is super important and helps carry out various tasks including joint lubrication, controlling your temperature, transportation of nutrients and even makes your skin look good!

As an approximate guide, the average adult requires 2-2.5 litres of water per day. The more exercise you do the more you will need. The hotter the climate the more you will need to drink and the older you are the more you will need to drink as your body stores less water and your kidneys aren’t as efficient.

Most will come from drinks but some will come from fruit and vegetables. Here are the top ways you can meet your daily water requirement:

1. Water: It's as simple as that. From the tap or in bottles, still or sparkling.

2. Fruit juice and smoothies: Not only are these great for water but they also contain lots of vitamins and minerals, however be aware of the sugar content. A good way to limit sugar is to reduce the fruit and add crushed ice and use water rich fruits like grapes, watermelon or vegetables.

3. Milk: As well as containing water it also has calcium which is great for the bones. Where possible choose semi or skimmed milk to keep the fat content down.

4. Tea or coffee: Again these are good, but if possible try decaffeinated versions as this will reduce the diuretic effects.

If you don't keep up with your water content you may become dehydrated. A good way to tell if you are dehydrated is to look at the colour of your wee. The darker it is, the more dehydrated you are. Other signs could be that you are feeling thirsty, have a dry mouth, feel dizzy or lethargic.

The diagram is from Bupa, is a great illustration to show the effects of dehydration on your urine.

So, enjoy yourself this winter but make sure you keep hydrated to keep your body in as tip top condition as you can. If you are going out to a party and having some drinks, balance it out with some water when you are home before you go to bed. Your body and head will thank you in the morning!