How to Get Seniors to Drink More Water

There’s no denying the importance of water. Our bodies use it in countless ways and without enough of it, we wouldn’t function well at all. Even mild dehydration may decrease energy and contribute to confusion, while significant dehydration can increase the risk of UTIs, constipation, and lead to many other problems.

Making sure seniors drink enough water is a surprisingly challenging problem, particularly for caregivers, many of whom are dealing with stubborn seniors who simply don’t want their water. That’s why, today, we’re looking at how you can get seniors to drink more water.

Why Seniors Struggle With Drinking Water

First though, why is drinking water such a problem for seniors anyway?

There are multiple issues at play and it’s important to talk about them, as the reason (or reasons) in your situation will influence which solutions are best. The main reasons are as follows:

• Memory issues. Even without cognitive impairment, many of us don’t remember to drink water as often as we need to. For seniors, this issue is often worse. Some may forget about drinking water, others may think they’ve drunk more than they actually have. 
• Incontinence and mobility issues can make some seniors more reluctant to drink water, as they don’t want to need to visit the bathroom.
• Seniors with dementia may lose the ability to connect their thirst with a need to drink water and some no longer recognize the feeling of thirst.
• Seniors who struggle to swallow may resist eating or drinking anything for fear of choking.
• Paranoid or stubborn seniors may not trust other people’s perspectives of their water consumption or what they should be drinking. Some seniors may see efforts to get them to drink water as an attempt to control them and be highly resistant as a result.

Plus, some medications have a diuretic effect and mean that seniors need more water than they would otherwise. This increase in need for water can turn into a serious problem for seniors who are already under-consuming water.

14 Ways to Get Seniors to Drink More Water

Sometimes, simply reminding the senior to drink more water is enough to keep them on track. However, if you’re reading this post, the simple approaches aren’t working.

Rather than doubling down on trying to convince them, try some of the tricks we talk about below instead. They can help improve the situation, without creating endless conflict between you and the senior.

Enhance The Flavor of Water

Plain water is the best way to stay hydrated. It’s also not very exciting.

Let’s be honest, most of us don’t enjoy plain water. We tolerate it. One of the best ways to get seniors to drink more water is to make the experience enjoyable.

Infused water is a fantastic approach, where you’re soaking fruits, vegetables, and even herbs and spices in your water. There are countless recipes out there, ranging from the simple to the complex. This post is a great place to begin, but don’t be afraid to experiment with your own combinations.

The flavor of infused water is subtle, but it may be enough. Plus, you’re not adding much sugar to the water, which is always a good thing.

You could also try adding a little lemon and lime juice, which provides some extra flavor with hardly any calories. Or, if that’s not enough flavor, you could try taking fruit juice and diluting it with water. A 50/50 mix is delicious and contains much less sugar than a full glass of fruit juice.

Turn to Sparkling Water

The bubbles in sparkling water make it much more interesting, potentially making the drink more appealing to seniors.

You can still add flavor in the same way too, like mixing sparkling water with fruit juice or infusing whole pieces of fruit into it.

Try Other Types Of Drink

While water is ideal for hydration, most types of water rich beverages will help with hydration. This includes water, tea, fruit juice, soda, and pretty much anything else. Even rich drinks like milkshakes provide some water.

We’re not suggesting that the senior only relies on sugary drinks for their water. That would become a serious problem fast. But, if some days this is all you can get them to drink, well, at least they’ve had something.

You can find or make healthier versions of many drinks too, like making sweetened tea using stevia rather than sugar. You can keep an eye out natural water enhancement products, like Stur. These are natural, add flavor, and are sugar free.

What’s healthy and safe will depend on their health needs, so talk to their doctor to work out the best approaches.

Use Dark Glasses and Bottles

This might seem strange, but colored bottles and glasses can help with water consumption. This is because some people, particularly seniors with dementia, struggle with the fact that water is largely invisible. Having a dark glass makes this less obvious and can increase water consumption.

Products like this can be fun, as they look good and make it easy to keep track of water consumption.

A related trick is to color water in some way. Even a few drops of food coloring might help.

Try Straws

Providing straws is another interesting approach. This won’t always help, but sometimes it does, as drinking water through a straw is more interesting than drinking it on its own.

Sound far-fetched? Well, the idea won’t work for everyone. Still, it requires barely any effort or expense, so it’s worth trying.

Offer Small Drinks Regularly

Large glasses of water can feel overwhelming for some seniors, so try offering them small glasses regularly instead. For example, you might provide a small drink with each meal, along with drink breaks in the mid-morning and mid-afternoon.

To stop this from getting boring, try varying things up – providing water sometimes and a different beverage another time. Doing this regularly helps to keep the water drinking habit going, without making the senior feel pressured.

You can make the process even more interesting by having fun glasses, like colored ones (these ones are a perfect example) or illustrated ones. Anything that makes drinking water less boring can work wonders.

Drink Regularly Around Them

A caregiver on the AgingCare forum mentioned providing water regularly for herself as well. For example, when she sat down to talk to the senior, she a small glass of water for the senior and one for herself. Then, during the conversation, the caregiver regularly took sips out of her own glass. Her loved one followed suit, without a word ever being mentioned.

This is a useful way to get seniors to drink more water, as it takes the convincing out of the equation entirely. Instead, drinking water can become familiar and automatic.

The idea won’t work in every situation, of course, but it’s still worth trying. You never know, it might make a huge difference.

Try Dementia Water Balls

Dementia water balls were developed as a creative way around the problem of hydration for seniors, particularly for seniors with dementia.

The idea came from the fact that while dementia patients often struggle to drink water, they still love treats. The same is true for most seniors. From this idea, Lewis Hornby developed Jelly Drops to help his aging grandmother drink more water.

You can see the idea in action in the video below.

The drops are 95% water, which makes them fantastic for hydration. Despite this, they still have a jelly-like texture and taste much like sweets. They’re low in carbs and free from sugar too, so they’re suitable for anyone with diabetes.

The drops aren’t just a nice idea. They’re now purchasable in the UK, with plans to release them soon in the US. If you’re in the US, you can sign up for their waiting list here. 

While these water balls were designed for seniors with dementia, they’re excellent for anyone who loves sweet treats.

Talk About Why

Communication is a powerful tool. Sometimes you just need to make sure the senior understands why drinking water is so important and what happens if they don’t. The process might also involve explaining why the senior needs more water than they expect (like the way that some medications increase water requirements).

As you probably know, this approach doesn’t always work. Sometimes it does though, particularly for seniors who are afraid of serious illness.

Keep Water On Hand

Having bottles or glasses of water in easy reach of the senior can work wonders too. This way the water is always simply there. They don’t need to think about it and they can drink when they’re thirsty, rather than waiting and then potentially forgetting.

Multiple caregivers on the AgingCare forums talk about using small bottles of water, the type you buy from the grocery store in packets of 12 or 24. The small size of the bottles makes them unthreatening and it’s easy to have bottles all around the house.

This is something I did as a caregiver as well and it did make a huge difference.

The idea isn’t great for the environment, of course, but if you’re desperate to get the senior to drink, this mightn’t matter. Recycling the bottles helps somewhat and you can even refill them with filtered water or tap water.

For a more environmentally friendly option, try small glasses of water or small reusable bottles that you fill yourself.

This approach does mean that you end up with bottles or glasses of water scattered throughout the house, often partly drunk and then forgotten. Still… if this is what it takes to keep your loved one hydrated, the mess might be worth it.

Use a Tracking System

For some seniors, the issue isn’t so much that they don’t want to drink water. Instead, they forget the amount they’ve consumed – and may imagine they’d had more water than they have.

A system for tracking water intake can help here.

One member on the AgingCare forum talked about having a large jug of water that the senior’s drinks were poured out of each day. If the senior had water rich food or drink, the equivalent amount was poured out of the bottle.

The approach provided a visual reminder of the senior’s target and helped them to know where they were. You could do this by making marks on a plastic bottle or by buying something specialized, like this half gallon water bottle.

An alternative technique is to use checkboxes or something similar to track the number of glasses consumed. This could seem less overwhelming than a large bottle of water.

A member of the same forum talked about using checkboxes for the entire family. The approach turned water drinking into a slight competition, which then encouraged the competitive senior.

Having a system that includes the whole family may also make the senior feel less like they’re being picked on.

Thicken the Water

If the senior struggles to swallow, thickening their drinks may be the answer. There are various thickeners out there, including ones that are designed to work with water.

Here are a few types to consider:

• Hormel Thick and Easy Instant Food & Beverage Thickener
• Simply Thick Easy Mix Gel Thickener Bottle with Pump
• Resource Thickenup Clear

It’s important to talk to the senior’s doctor before turning to thickeners, just in case there are other factors to consider.

Change the Temperature

The temperature of the water can make a difference too.

Sometimes seniors will be more likely to drink water with ice, particularly when the weather is hot. But, this isn’t always the case. Some seniors find the ice frustrating or even painful, and may be more likely to drink lukewarm water.

As with most of these ideas, the trick is to experiment. Try different temperatures and see which the senior drinks more often. You could ask for their feedback as well.

Use Interesting Glasses

Finally, think about what you’re serving liquids in. Rather than just using plain glasses, you might experiment with patterned ones. Some people even drink water from wine glasses (this is particularly fun with sparkling water). What about whiskey glasses?

Why not? Anything that makes water a little more interesting could work wonders.

Other Ways To Help With Hydration

Turn To Water Rich Foods

Drinks aren’t the only way to stay hydrated. Water rich foods can be powerful too.

For example, members on caregiving forums talk about giving aging parents watermelon and cantaloupe as treats. These fruits are incredibly high in water, so they’re an excellent choice.

You could also include more water rich vegetables in the senior’s meal, like adding slices of cucumber to sandwiches or to a salad.

Don’t forget about soup either or even bone broth. If the senior loves soup, you might be able to serve some type of soup most days. This mightn’t be the most interesting way to increase hydration, but it works.

Popsicles in the summer can be fun too. Not only do these help to cool seniors down, but the senior might also see them as a treat.

Make Visits to the Bathroom Easier and Safer

Reluctance to drink water is sometimes linked to fear about visiting the bathroom. The senior might be worried about falling, they may find the whole process stressful or difficult, or they may be concerned about not making it in time.

You can take steps to make these processes easier for the senior.

Start with where they sit. Make sure that seats are easy to get in and out of. Doing so could involve using a lift chair or making sure that there are sturdy handles for them to hold onto. There are even couch and chair standing aids that make any type of sea easier to use.

Making the bathroom safe is important too.

Grab bars can make a huge difference. Consider a raised toilet seat as well, as this makes it easier to get up and down. Adaptive clothing can help too, making it easier for the senior to remove their pants quickly.

There are also incontinence products, like briefs and pads for chairs. These help to contain any accidents.

Incontinence is embarrassing, so it helps to be kind and compassionate when accidents do occur. Doing so can help the senior to feel less afraid of having accidents and more likely to drink water.

Talk to Their Doctor

Talk to the senior’s doctor as well. It might be possible to change some of the senior’s medication, so that their need for water isn’t as significant.

It’s also worth finding out roughly how much water the senior should be having each day. Having a figure might make the entire process easier.

Some caregivers also find that the senior trusts another person’s advice more than theirs. If this is the case for you, it might help if the doctor tells the senior how much water they need and why.

Don’t Be Idealistic

Finally, your solutions don’t need to be perfect. Sometimes you just need to look for what works, even if it isn’t the ideal solution.

For example, water is the ideal way for seniors to stay hydrated. Infused water and sparkling water are excellent choices as well. A sugary drink or coffee isn’t nearly as good, but if they’re the only way the senior will stay hydrated, then they may just have to do.

Rather than trying to push water, it may be better to find the healthiest ways of approaching whatever solution works. For example, you could use a natural sweetener rather than sugar in sweetened iced tea or swap their regular coffee out for decaf.

Final Thoughts

Water is essential for health, but you can’t force seniors to drink if they don’t want to. The tips we’ve featured in this list should help.

You will, however, need to experiment to work out which approaches the senior responds best to. Part of the process will involve working what why the senior is reluctant to begin with.

If memory problems are significant, for example, then a checkbox system could help, along with keeping bottles of water around the place. If the senior finds water boring, look for alternatives that taste better – and if they consistently resist drinking water, water rich foods and dementia water balls could be perfect.