For most of us, ringing in the new year is synonymous with one thing: resolutions. Whether you’re excited by or shy away from setting goals, whether your approach to goal-setting is as a reset to revisit past goals or to find motivation to simply get started, you need to be properly hydrated, especially in the wintertime. As you welcome the new year, LMNT can help you power through to meet the simple yet foundational health goals we often overlook, such as maintaining our nutrition and hydration levels and improving our sleep.

How Optimal Electrolytes Can Support Your Nutrition & Hydration Goals

When considering the food and fluids we intake daily, we hope to aim for hydrating liquids—which can come from electrolyte-rich, zero-sugar beverages like LMNT as well as hydrating foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and broths, among others—and a diet made up of whole foods, namely protein, healthy fats, complex carbohydrates, and fiber. 

Often vilified as a result of its high number on the nutrition labels of ultra-processed foods, salt (40% sodium and 60% chloride) is actually a catalyst for nearly all of our bodily processes. LMNT acknowledges the important role of salt in our system. Cutting it out is not the answer; instead, the right quantity of salt combined with essential minerals, like potassium and magnesium, creates a balance that does wonders for sustaining our overall fluid levels. In turn, maintaining an optimal electrolyte balance creates a positive chain reaction throughout all systems of our body. Here are just a few ways salt is essential for optimal nutrition and hydration:

Fluid & Electrolyte Balance: Along with helping to maintain vital fluid balance, which is critical for overall health, salt as an electrolyte helps carry electrical impulses to the brain. Some of these impulses signal thirst—a key physical indicator that helps us stay hydrated (Salt and Sodium, 2023). 

Nerve & Muscle Function: Our nerves are the electricity and our muscles are the machinery behind our involuntary and voluntary functions. Optimal function stems from the sharpness of our nervous system. To ensure proper communication between our nerves, nerve impulses need to be conducted without fail, and salt helps with that process. The contraction and relaxation of our muscles, a result of our nervous system firing on the correct cylinders, is also thanks to the power of salt (Salt and Sodium, 2023).

Digestion & Nutrient Absorption: Even if we make all the right food choices for ourselves, it doesn’t matter if the body isn’t optimally breaking down that food into usable parts. When it comes to properly digesting our food, salt is critical; it helps activate taste enzymes and produce hydrochloric acid in the stomach and plays a role in the absorption of certain nutrients further down in the digestive tract (Kaushik, Kumar, & Kain, 2018).   

For athletes, an evidence-based tip is to include 1 gram of sodium per liter of water (Baker et al., 2016). Guess what? Each serving of LMNT contains exactly that amount. Outside of nutrition and hydration, if your goal is to move more in the new year, you cannot overlook your nutrition and hydration routine for this reason, as they are quite literally the fuel and fluids that will help you optimally move and recover.

The Connection Between Optimal Hydration and Better Sleep

No matter what your goals, desires, or dreams are, you will not have the energy to execute any of them if you’re tired. Unsurprisingly, there is a link between poor hydration and poor sleep. The symptoms of dehydration—such as dry mouth, muscle cramps, headache, increased cortisol levels, etc.—can make it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. 

If we have a bad night’s sleep, Jordan Hill, a registered dietitian, explains that sleep deprivation can then make us more prone to ignoring dehydration cues and, on a physiological level, can actually alter our hormonal regulation, which can have an adverse effect on our body’s ability to regulate fluid levels (McCoy, 2024). Add on the fact that when we are asleep, we continue to lose fluids by breathing and sweating, and suddenly the cycle of hydration we try to keep up with throughout the day is inextricably linked to our sleep.

To prevent yourself from succumbing to the doomed cycle of unsatisfactory sleep and unquenchable thirst, focus on drinking the right balance of water and electrolytes throughout the day. How? With LMNT.

Set Goals and Attain Them With LMNT

With the help of LMNT, you can achieve better nutrition, better hydration, and better sleep this new year and beyond. By taking proactive steps to maintain optimal electrolyte levels, 2025 can be your “yes I can” year. Don’t sweat the small stuff—and if you do, you can easily replenish, repower, and keep going with LMNT’s easy tear, pour, and mix packets of electrolytes that contain zero sugar.

From LMNT’s original hydration packs to their Sparkling line, it’s easy to find a drink to fit every mood and occasion. For a limited time only, try their trio of winter flavors—Chocolate Mint, Chocolate Chai, and Chocolate Raspberry—designed to be enjoyed hot. Get it while it’s hot, only until January 31st.

Receive a free 8-serving sample pack with any purchase.

For more information on the salty science behind LMNT, read here. 

Note: If you are hypertensive or pre-hypertensive, consult your physician before using LMNT.

Image from LMNT.

References

Baker, L. B., Barnes, K. A., Anderson, M. L., Passe, D. H., & Stofan, J. R. (2016). Normative data for regional sweat sodium concentration and whole-body sweating rate in athletes. Journal of sports sciences, 34(4), 358–368. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2015.1055291.

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (2023, March). Salt and Sodium. The Nutrition Source. https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/salt-and-sodium/. 

Kaushik, S., Kumar, R., & Kain, P. (2018). Salt an Essential Nutrient: Advances in Understanding Salt Taste Detection Using Drosophila as a Model System. Journal of experimental neuroscience, 12, 1179069518806894. https://doi.org/10.1177/1179069518806894.

McCoy, A. (2024, April 5). The Complete Guide to Hydration and Sleep. Sleepopolis. https://sleepopolis.com/education/hydration-and-sleep/.