How Much Water Should You Drink Every Day?
Drinking adequate water is essential every day to avoid hydration and improve overall health. People more often believe that drinking 8 glasses of water daily is enough. However, this amount of water to drink isn’t entirely right.
Keeping a water bottle with you throughout the day is smart to fulfill your daily fluid requirement. However, to learn how much you need a day, look at the information given below.
How much water should you drink daily?
About 60% of our bodies are made up of water. Water is essential for every function of our body. It carries nutrients to cells, helps digest food, flushes toxins from organs, and cushions our joints. Not drinking enough water will make you dehydrated, which can further lead to confusion, dizziness, and seizures.
Therefore, it is imperative to provide your body with enough water daily.
However, whenever it’s about how much water you should drink regularly, the question doesn’t have any straightforward answer.
Factors that impact the water quantity you should intake per day
The water you should drink daily depends upon multiple things. These more often include:
· The area you live:
Do you live in a hot, dry, and humid area? Then you will certainly need more water to meet your body’s fluid needs. Similarly, if you live in high-altitude areas or mountains, you will still need more water to intake.
· The workout you do
Do you workout a lot? Or do you have an active lifestyle throughout the day? If you walk a lot, work out regularly, or stand the whole day, you need more water than people who sit at the desk all day.
After any workout session or intense activity, you must drink more water to recover from your loss.
· Size and Weight of your body
The size and weight of your body play a vital role in determining how much water you should intake daily. People with more weight need to drink more water, and vice versa.
· Diet you are having
Are you drinking more coffee or other caffeinated beverages? You may lose more water due to excess urination than others. Consequently, you will have to drink more water.
Similarly, if you are consuming more spicy, sugary, and salty foods, you will have to drink more water. At the same time, drinking more water is important if you aren't consuming more water-rich items.
· Your health
Do you have a fever, infection, or other health condition like diabetes? Then you will have to drink more water. However, are you suffering from a serious health condition? Then it's better to consult your doctor about how much water you should intake daily.
· Breastfeeding or pregnant
Nursing or pregnant women need to drink more water to stay hydrated.
· Environment
Are you spending more time outdoors or in a warmer place? Then you will feel thirstier more often than otherwise.
· The weather
We usually need more water during months with warmer temperatures than cooler ones because of perspiration.
The best way to consume enough water throughout the day is to invest in a high-quality water bottle and keep it with you everywhere. A water bottle is the most convenient way to carry your water. So you can drink enough water throughout the day to stay healthy.
A WIDE MOUTH water bottle is the best to choose from. This can keep your water hot or cold everywhere. Moreover, this water bottle is easier to carry due to its easy-to-carry handle.
What is the recommended amount of water I should drink a day?
Hydration is imperative, and dehydration can negatively affect your body.
According to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, adult women should drink 2.7 liters of water a day. Similarly, adult men should intake 3.7 liters of fluid per day.
It is vital to note that this measurement is for daily fluid intake, not for water only. As per recommendations, approx. 20% of fluid can come from your food. Just think about consuming water-rich fruits and vegetables primarily.
However, do you want to get a more personalized water intake recommendation? Then you should count it as per your weight. Drink about half an ounce of water for every pound of your weight.
Consider consuming multiple water sources to fulfill your daily fluid intake requirements.
Threats of intaking too low or too much water.
When you don’t intake enough water daily, your brain functions and energy levels start to suffer. Various research studies support this fact.
- According to one research study, decreased water levels in women after exercise increases headaches’ frequency and impairs mood.
- As per another study, men not drinking water for hours clearly affect the focus, fatigue, attention, short-term memory, and response speed.
- Moreover, even mild dehydration can affect your physical performance. According to a clinical study of healthy men, only 1% loss of their body water affects their endurance, muscle strength, and power.
- Losing 1% of water loss in the body doesn’t seem much. However, it can still have a significant impact on your body. The 1% body water loss can occur when you are sitting in a warm room, sweating a lot but not drinking water.
On the other hand, it is rare for a healthy adult who consumes an appropriate regular diet to over-intake water. However, it happens too. Drinking a lot of water that kidneys can't remove from the body can lead to developing a health condition. This health condition is known as hyponatremia.
This means that the minerals of your body’s blood are water-downed or diluted. This condition will make the sodium levels of your body fall. On the other hand, the water level of your body increases, which makes your body cells swell.
Not recognizing the problem soon can cause serious or even life-threatening effects. Endurance athletes are at a higher risk of getting this condition.
Final Thoughts
The 8-glasses-a-day formula of drinking water may be suitable for some, but this one-size-fits-for-all recommendation isn't true for everyone. Water is an important part of everyone’s life. However, learning how much you should intake every day is vital.