5 Apps That Will Help You Remember To Drink More Water

Uber-cute wellness app Aloe Bud lets users track virtually every aspect of self-care. You can customize reminders, which are designed to be gentle and non-judgmental, so if you forget to drink (or eat, or get to bed on time, or brush your teeth, or work out), you won't feel guilted. Aloe Bud offers two ways to note that you've hydrated: You can do a one-tap check-in, which just records the time and the fact that you drank something, or you can do a reflection, where you can actually write down what you drank, the amount, and anything else you want.

Aloe Bud's one downfall is that, unlike many water drinking-specific apps, it doesn't tally up the amount of water you drank — you'll have to do that yourself. But if you're looking for an app with an excellent reminder system that allows you to track more aspects of wellness than fluid intake, Aloe Bud is definitely worth checking out.

Drink Water Reminder takes in a lot of information about your day-to-day, including what kind of climate you live in, which, as someone who lives in Canada and deals with daily temperature swings of 20 degrees Celsius or more on the regular, I find hugely helpful. Drink Water Reminder's primary purpose is to nudge you at a set interval so you're drinking water throughout the day. Tell it what time you wake up, what time you go to bed, and how often you want to drink water (from every 10 minutes to every three hours), and you'll get customized reminders.

Perhaps one of the best-known water drinking apps out there, Plant Nanny lives up to its reputation. Beware going into this one that not meeting your daily water quota has real consequences for your little plants, which can and will die, so if that's too much pressure, maybe take a pass. But for those who (like me) need a stricter reminder, tending to Plant Nanny plants by regularly drinking is an excellent way to stay hydrated. Like Aloe Bud, Plant Nanny features adorable art, and it also gives you interactable plants that depend on you to help them out when they're thirsty.

Aqualert also takes in a lot of info about you to customize itself for your use. As you log more and more days meeting your water drinking goals, you can earn badges from Aqualert, which will let you know how you may be helping to level up your body by drinking water regularly. Meeting your water goals for 13 days in a row gets you a Body Function badge, 27 days will get you a Skin and Muscles badge, and 99 days will get you a Health and Beauty badge. It's like a game where the prize is being hydrated!

My Water Balance will calculate how much water you should drink each day based on your personal details, but also lets you change that amount to suit your individual needs. My favorite feature of this app, however, is the ability to choose from a bevy of drinks when you check in to record the amount of fluid you've had. All you do is tap "Add a drink" in the app, and a frankly enormous selection pops up, from the typical water, coffee, and tea to yogurt, a protein shake, kompot, broth, kvass, kombucha, and even wine. Once you've added a drink, My Water Balance will let you know what percentage of your daily intake you have to go.

Drinking water can be easy to forget, but trust me, it's vital for staying on top of your health. The apps here are a mix of adorable and practical, but all of them have tools to help you track what you drink.