Soaked: The Myths and Facts of Hydration
Popular culture is awash in misconceptions about our daily fluid requirements
This article is part of a Wise & Well Special Report: Extreme Heat and Human Health.
When I was an adolescent I completed a 10-hour, 15-mile hike up and down Yosemite’s Half Dome more than once. Each time, I drank some water when I set out, and again when I returned. And that was all. I am not endorsing that practice, but I would like to point out that I am still here, kidneys and all. Today my kids cannot (read: will not) leave home for more than a few minutes without their water bottles.
My offspring sometimes ask me how much water they should drink. I tell them about my advanced methodology, which I call my “Total Hydration Internal Regulation Sensing Technique,” or THIRST. That’s right, I tell them. Drink if you are thirsty.
Like much of my priceless wisdom, this is met by eye rolls despite the fact that I am a board-certified physician (as I like to remind them).
“No seriously, Dad. How much?”
Origin of a myth
Conventional wisdom has long held that we need to drink 64 ounces of water a day (that’s half a gallon, or nearly 2 liters). This is often expressed in terms of 8-ounce…
