Rally’s been a die-hard morning coffee guy his whole life — until he found out he’d been starting his days off all wrong. Turns out, there’s something your body desperately needs before that first cup of Joe. Make this one small change, and your brain, your heart, and your blood pressure might all thank you.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
RALLY:
Hey there Beautiful People!
Welcome back to the Silver Beast Podcast — I’m Rally Preston, your 70-year-old podcast host who now believes “act your age” was terrible advice.
So quick question. First thing in the morning, after you wake up — what’s your beverage of choice?
Let me guess. Coffee. Am I right? (Yeah, I’m psychic like that.)
Well I used to do that too. In fact, —not to brag— but I’m our home’s resident barista… I hand my wife a freshly brewed cup of coffee with a scoop of collagen peptides and a squirt of cold foam… and she hands me five bucks. Ha! – yeah I wish. But yeah, we’ve been drinking coffee first thing in the A.M. since we reached legal age to consume caffeine. I’m guessing a lot of you have too.
But here’s the thing I found out a while back — those of us who’ve just got to have that cup of Joe first thing – we’re probably starting our mornings out all wrong.
What your body actually needs after waking up — before coffee, before breakfast, before anything — is …are you ready? A glass of water.
Well, that sounds… absolutely boring. Yeah, I know. But let me tell you why you just need a little aqua first — this is important.
So when you wake up, you’ve been asleep for six, seven, eight hours, right? Well hopefully. And chances are your body’s had zero water that whole time. And all this time you’ve been breathing, your body’s been doing its thing — lots of repair work — all of which uses water. So by the time you open your eyes in the morning, you’ve lost at least a half-liter of water…or if you’re a metric-phobic like me, that’s a little over two cups of water. So you’re waking up a little dehydrated – and you don’t even know it.
Now, when you were younger, your body had a built-in alarm when you were low on fluids — it was called thirst. You remember feeling thirsty right? Whenever you got a little low, your brain went ‘hey, drink something,’ and you did. As a kid for me, it was either Kool-Aid or grabbing the garden hose. Anyway, thirst quenched, problem solved. But as we get older? That thirst alarm gets a lot quieter. Scientists back this up — older adults can be really dehydrated and not feel that thirsty at all. And get this: studies show up to 40% of adults over 65 may be chronically dehydrated. Forty percent. No clue they need fluids.
You want to know what chronic dehydration actually feels like for us now? — It shows up as fatigue. Brain fog. You have trouble concentrating.You’re not in a great mood. Maybe headaches. And you know what we do? A lot of us just write it off as… ‘eh, I’m just getting older.’ Well — don’t think you should do that.
Because when you’re dehydrated, your body releases a hormone called vasopressin — and what vasopressin does is it shrinks your blood vessels. And when those tighten up, your blood pressure can creep up. And according to the research here, chronically high vasopressin can lead to higher blood pressure, higher blood sugar, and insulin resistance. For us older folks managing all the things we’re managing already… yeah… dehydration can make things worse.
So one glass of water first thing, when you wake up. That starts to turn some bad stuff around.
Alright, now let’s get back to your morning coffee for a second, because I’m not saying give it up — I couldn’t do it. But here’s what you should know: caffeine can be a mild diuretic. Which just means it encourages your body to produce more urine. And if you’re already running a little low on fluids from the night before… well, drinking coffee first thing won’t help that. So the ask here is simple. Water first. Then coffee. That’s it. That’s my whole earth-shaking tip.
Well actually — here’s a little bonus tip if you can do it — try waiting 30 to 60 minutes after waking up before you have that first cup of coffee. I know, now that’s a really big ask. But here’s why… your body produces its own natural wake-up hormone in the morning – that’s cortisol – and it peaks right after you get up. Caffeine raises cortisol too. So if you stack them right on top of each other — coffee on top of your natural cortisol spike — you can get a little jittery, a little anxious. And over time your body starts relying on that caffeine instead of its own natural rhythm. It’s better to let your cortisol naturally do its thing first, then drink some coffee a little later? Honestly, it hits better. I’ve tried it. It works.
Alright. What about adding lemon to your morning water? Some people do it…and it’s a good idea if it motivates you to drink water first thing.
Lemons have vitamin C, which is good for your immune system and your skin. The acid in lemon also helps wake up your digestion, which is nice because stomach acid naturally decreases as we age, so that little nudge in the morning is kind of helpful. And for those of us prone to kidney stones — which, unfortunately, is more common as we get older — the citric acid in lemon may actually help prevent them.
Oh, and honestly? Lemon just makes the water taste better. And if it tastes better, you’ll drink more of it. So that’s a win.
One small note on that — if you’ve got acid reflux or sensitive teeth, go easy on the lemon, or just dilute it a bit more. And if you’re on any blood pressure or cholesterol medications, just check with your doctor — citrus can occasionally interact with certain drugs. You just want to be safe.
OK. Here’s what you might want to try starting tomorrow to get in the water first habit:
Put a glass or bottle of water on your nightstand before you go to sleep. When you wake up, before anything else — grab it and drink it. Eight to sixteen ounces. Just chug it right down.
And if plain water sounds too blah — try a warm lemon water version. Just squeeze a little fresh lemon into warm water. It feels like a little morning ritual instead of a chore, and for those of us trying to build better habits… this warm water and lemon one might just do the trick.
And here’s your free, high-tech hydration test: check the color of your pee. I know — how gauche of me, right? It’s just part of my charm. But pale yellow or close to clear means you’re doing great. Dark yellow or amber? Your body’s telling you to drink up.
Here’s what I can tell you from my own experience — when I started drinking water first thing, before the coffee, I just felt a little sharper in the mornings. A little more… ready to go I guess.
One glass of water when you wake up. That’s the whole ask for today, Silver Beasties. Just try it. A tiny habit that can help your brain, your heart, your kidneys, your blood pressure — maybe even your energy levels. It’s a very low effort thing…but I think you’ll find it pays off.
Alright, this is Rally Preston — ya’ll drink up, and I’ll catch you next time on The Silver Beast Podcast! Take care!