HEALTH
How Much Water Should You Drink a Day?
How to avoid dehydration and why drinking enough aqua is vital for our bodies.
Humans consist of water in about fifty to seventy percent as far as body weight is concerned.
We depend on water to survive, as every living creature on the planet.
It is said that people can go without water for approximately three days. When it comes to food it’s highly more — even up to 2 months. It’s quite a difference, right?
It shows the priority perfectly. Every single organ and cell in our bodies needs water to do its work properly.
What can happen if you don’t drink enough water?
Dehydration. Usually we experience mild dehydration for a day or two and it can show as:
- a headache
- feeling tired and fatigued,
- feeling thirsty,
- dry mouth and lips,
- peeing less than usual (and pee being dark yellow and smelly).
Dehydration for a longer period of time can lead to worse symptoms such as:
- not peeing at all,
- rapid heartbeat,
- fever and chills,
- unconsciousness,
- issues with organs (most likely kidneys).
How to simply overcome dehydration?
It can take only five minutes to begin rehydrating your body. Digesting water takes about two hours and that’s when your body can be rehydrated. To achieve it you can:
- drink plenty of fluids,
- eat high-water foods.
Just remember that when attempting to hydrate your body do not drink large portions of fluid at one time! Take a few sips every few minutes for a longer period.
Okay, but the real question is, how much water should you actually drink every day?
There are several factors that indicate the amount of water (or fluids in general) you need:
- body weight
Every person has a different body and needs a bit different amount of fluids. Kids don’t need as much as an adult. Women usually don’t need as much as men. The differences may not be enormous but they sure are vital.
- level of physical activity
If you have a sedentary type of life you won’t need to drink the same amount of water as someone who exercises or especially someone who has a really active lifestyle. Sweating requires putting more water in our bodies due to its loss. It’s important to drink water before, during and after a workout.
- overall health (illnesses or different states like pregnancy etc.)
With high fever knocking on our door comes lots of sweating. Same story like with exercises, our body loses water so we have to refill it. Pregnant and breast-feeding women also have a higher need for fluids in case for them to stay hydrated.
- fluid content in dietary intake
Certain foods (mostly fruits and vegetables) contain plenty of water e.g. watermelon, strawberries, peaches, pineapples, cucumbers or tomatoes. By eating these foods we’ll have sure that we’re slightly more hydrated.
- climate you live in
Living in different climates diverse the demand of water to intake. High temperatures and hot environment make humans sweat more which leads to the need of additional fluids in case not to overheat.
The numbers:
The recommended rule is that for every kg of your body weight you should drink 30 mls of water.
Example: a person who weighs 60 kgs should drink approximately 1.8 litres of water per day.
When it comes to pounds and ounces most people should drink between half an ounce and an ounce of water for each pound of body weight.
Example: a person who weighs 200 pounds should drink approximately 100 to 200 ounces of water every day.
Here is a great toul to calculate your daily need.
Remember to take in consideration the factors mentioned earlier.
Are there any rules when it comes to staying hydrated?
There are some easy rules of thumb to follow when it comes to proper hydration.
Rule number one is to pre-hydrate. Drink before you feel like you need to drink, before getting thirsty, before the activity, before you have a headache, before you think ‘oh shit, I haven’t drank anything today yet’.
There’s also this well known eight glasses per day rule. The eight glasses a day rule comes from an influencer nutritionist Fredrick J. Stare. The rule seems pretty easy to follow but the catch is that the same amount of water is not the right amount of water for everyone.
To be honest, you don’t have to listen to these rules if you don’t feel like it. There are various ways of when, how and what to drink best but as long as you stay hydrated and healthy it’s all good.
How to remember to drink water?
#1
You can download an app that reminds you every now and then to drink a glass of water. After drinking you can tick it off so it should motivate you to drink another one so you can tick it off again and again. There are many apps like that e.g. WaterMinder.
#2
You don’t feel like downloading another app on your already full storage phone? Fair enough. Make it simple and just set reminders for different times of the day. It should work pretty well too.
#3
Put bottles of water and glasses all around the house. Kitchen, living room, bedroom, near your bed, on the desk, everywhere you can. This way you won’t have an excuse and your laziness won’t step in. Just simply grab the nearest bottle and take a few sips.
#4
If you spend the majority of your life outside and find it challenging to buy bottled water at every corner I recommend trying out a filtered water bottle. If you ran out of water you can simply fill it up with any available water from a tap even at the train station. It’s greatly described at the beginning of this article.
To give yourself higher chances of staying hydrated it is advised to sip water throughout the day and not limit yourself to an amount of glasses.
Can I drink too much water?
Actually, yes. It’s not easy to do but it’s possible.
Remember not to flood your body all at once. Drinking your daily demand at once is not the same as drinking it peacefully throughout the day. Drinking it all at once increases the risk of a condition called hyponatremia. It’s unusual but can be life-threatening.
Is water the only right fluid to drink in order to stay hydrated?
No, there are various fluids to drink but water is vital and should be drunk every day. Drinking only water may be challenging and boring to many people. Tea, coffee, milk and juices work perfectly fine too. Soups may be likewise a great substitute for some people. Remember that those drinks cannot completely replace your daily intake of water. They can be a huge help and interesting flavours to add to your diet but water is the key.
Water is basically life. This fluid is what keeps us alive and going. We are surrounded by aqua. Put off fizzy drinks and appreciate the simplest drink ever. It has the ability to nourish your body like nothing else. Staying hydrated means staying healthy and feeling flourishing.
An advice that will stay true and wise forever?
Stay hydrated, drink aqua.
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I’m Oliwia and thanks for spending a tiny part of your life on reading my article.
