Why Do People AVOID Drinking Warm Lemon Water Before Bed?

Why Do People Avoid Drinking Warm Lemon Water Before Bed?

From health trends and social media to scientific journals and websites, people everywhere have been touting the benefits of drinking a cup of lemon water for years. Yet, a lot of people still aren’t sold on the idea, particularly when it comes to drinking warm lemon water before bed.

A few things to note:

The obvious reason for this is they don’t want to need to go to the toilet more often when they should be sleeping.

The best remedy for this is to limit or avoid drinking water about 1.5 hours before you fall asleep to minimize trips to the toilet after bedtime.

Another option is to instead drink warm lemon water as soon as you wake up to ensure you reap some of the benefits mentioned in this post without worrying about sleep disturbances.

If you really want to spruce up your warm water add a slice of lemon, small wedge of ginger, and pinch of salt.

What Are The Benefits of Drinking Hot or Warm Water Before Bed?

Before talking about why you should drink warm lemon water before bed, let’s first look at the benefits of drinking plain water.

Drinking warm water aids in digestion and encourages regular bowel movements. Although research on this is limited, it is thought that warm water breaks down food in your digestive system faster than cold water.

Warm water is a vasodilator, which means to expands your blood vessels leading to improved circulation.

It can also encourage your body to sweat more, which cleanses your lymphatic system as well as improving your complexion.

Many traditional medicine or natural health advocates cite drinking warm water as a way to flush out toxins and cleanse the body.

Let’s now take a closer look at the main health benefits of drinking lemon water, or more specifically, hot or at least warm water with lemon.

Health Benefits Of Drinking Warm Lemon Water Before Bed

Here are some of the most surprising benefits of lemon water when consumed as a warm nighttime drink.

1. Hot Lemon Water Aids Weight Loss.

Drinking water for weight management isn’t a new concept. I have talked about how water is effective at helping you with weight loss many times in this blog.

More and more dietitians are recognizing the importance of drinking enough water, especially when the goal is to lose weight.

Also, many different academic studies support this approach as an effective way to help shed those extra pounds.

One of the possible explanations is that hot water breaks down the fat deposits in your body, which ultimately results in weight loss. But again, research on this is limited.

Another explanation is that drinking more water makes you feel fuller and helps to curb your appetite so that you eat less food overall. Adding lemon to hot water makes these results even more pronounced.

Why? One possible reason is that lemon contains pectin, a type of soluble fiber that expands in your stomach, making you feel fuller and helping to control food cravings. However, lemon juice contains little to no pectin, so unless you’re consuming part of the fruit, pectin probably isn’t responsible for increased satiety.

2. Warm Water Cleanses And Purifies Your Body

As I mentioned previously, one of the key benefits of drinking warm lemon water before bed is its ability to help your body cleanse itself.

Your body naturally attracts lots of toxins, whether from your immediate environment, the food you eat, or a multitude of other elements.

However, by consistently cleansing your body, you make it easier for it to function better and keep it healthier.

If you are someone who is suffering from poor digestion, for example, drinking warm water can help move things along.

Remember that this also applies to other citrus fruits like limes, grapefruit, and oranges.

To summarize, drinking warm water before bed will help your body clear out unwanted toxins, which can positively impact your digestive tract, muscles, and even your skin.

3. Warm Lemon Water Helps With Constipation.

Constipation can occur as a result of not having enough fiber in your diet, among other things.

Without enough fiber to keep things moving, stool can deposit in your intestines, causing fewer bowel movements and lots of discomfort. This means passing stools are difficult and sometimes extremely painful.

If you frequently struggle with constipation, your first point of call is to add more fiber to your diet.

Next is to drink more water, not only to ensure you stay hydrated, but to promote digestion. Drink several glasses of warm water during the day, ideally on an empty stomach, for the best results.

A glass of hot or warm water on an empty stomach, especially upon waking in the morning, has been shown to improve bowel movements and help with constipation.

Additionally, including warm and hot water in your diet helps break down food particles making them easier to digest as they pass through your intestines.

4. Warm Lemon Water Increases Sweating.

This might not seem like a good thing and the vast majority of us don’t necessarily want to sweat more. However, sweating is surprisingly good for you.

Sweating is how your body regulates its temperature, by sweating as a means to cool you down when you’re overheating.

It can also help your body flush out toxins, bring moisture to the surface of your skin, and flush out build-up, leading to healthier, beautiful looking skin. Consuming water that is warm or hot enough to increase your body temperature can lead to your sweating more, which is a good thing.

5. Warm Lemon Water is Good For Cough And Colds.

If you suffer from a cough or cold or have irritation in your throat, warm water can help wit that too.

Hot/warm water will liquefy and dissolve thick phlegm in your throat and ultimately help get it out of your system.

If you have pain in your throat, try gargling a cup of warm water with some salt mixed into it.

Adding fresh lemon juice to your water is especially beneficial for someone needing an immune system boost. Lemon is rich in vitamin C, which is a great natural remedy for colds. Drinking lemon water before bed can not only help you sleep more comfortably when you’re sick, it can help you get well sooner.

6. Warm Lemon Water Improves Blood Circulation.

One of the biggest advantages of drinking warm water with lemon is that it improves your blood circulation.

While hot water expands the blood vessels, the citric acid in lemon, as well as the related citrate, can naturally improve blood circulation in the body.

7. Warm/Hot Water Reduces Body Pain.

There is a reason why people in England turn to a hot cup of tea in the face of crises. Drinking a hot beverage relaxes and soothes your body.

And the soothing effect of hot water can help with pain.

As your blood circulation improves, your muscles can relax, providing you relief from pain.

Many people swear by drinking hot water as a remedy for menstrual cramps and other forms of stomach pain.

Hot water tends to be more effective than warm water when it comes to relaxing the body especially when in pain.

If getting access to hot water is too much work for you then try a hot water bottle.

How To Drink More Water Everyday

A healthy person needs about 2 to 4 litres of water each day depending on your gender, body weight and level of physical activity. I have previously written a post which includes a “how much water I should drink a day calculator“.

It can be challenging trying to meet your daily water intake target, so here are some quick ideas to help improve your general water consumption:

Download an app that will help you track how much water you drink a day, schedule reminders and tracks your progress. I have written a blog post which reviews the best drink water reminder apps available today.

When you know how much water you should drink a day, buy a container that holds that amount of water, such as a water filter jug that holds 2L of water. Then, drink from that jug throughout the day. This will allow you to visually monitor your daily water in take and see how much water you have left to drink.

Add more water to your diet by incorporating it into your daily routines. For example, drink a full glass of water after you brush your teeth in the morning and at night, and before you eat a meal. However, be aware that the acid in lemon juice can wear down your enamel, so you’re better sticking to plain water right after you brush your teeth.

Conclusion: Why Drink Warm Lemon Water Before Bed?

There are many benefits of drinking warm lemon water before bedtime.

It helps with circulation, digestion, and detoxification.

More water in your body is generally a good thing but warm/hot water with a slice of lemon has some extra added benefits.

Lemon contains pectin fiber, which helps control food cravings. Add it to warm water to compounds its benefits.

Lemon is also rich in vitamin C, which is a powerful antioxidant and immunity booster.

In conclusion, drinking warm lemon water before bed will help you feel better overall. It can also help you lose weight faster and improve the digestive processes in your body.

Scientific References

M. L. Roose, Gulsen, O. (2001). “Lemons: Diversity and Relationships with Selected Citrus Genotypes as Measured with Nuclear Genome Markers”. Journal of the American Society of Horticultural Science. Volume 126. Pages 309–317.

Hobbins M. (2003). The SODIS Health Impact Study, Ph.D. Thesis. The Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH).
Greenhalgh, A. (March 2001). “Healthy living – Water”. BBC Health. Retrieved from BBC Health online 2017-03-19.

Assini JM, Mulvihill EE, Huff MW (2013). Citrus flavonoids and lipid metabolism. Current Opinion in Lipidology.

Saura D, Mena P, Martí N, Micol V, Cánovas JA (2009). Vitamin C and the role of citrus juices as functional food. Natural Product Communications.Pages 677–700.

Ishihara K, Miyake Y, Domoto T (2010). Effect of daily lemon intake on a range of parameters related to metabolic syndrome. Health Sciences (Academic Journal).