Importance of Staying Hydrated

Water is the unsung hero of our bodies. It makes up 50-70% of our body weight and plays a crucial role in various bodily functions. These include regulating body temperature, supporting digestion, and transporting nutrients. According to Mayo Clinic, water is essential for every cell, tissue, and organ in your body. Without enough water, your body simply can’t function optimally.

Common Misconceptions About Water Intake

You’ve probably heard about the “8×8 rule,” or the advice to “drink eight glasses of water a day.” You may have also heard that drinking a gallon of water every day is unhealthy. However, both of these statements are oversimplifications. While I’m certainly not going to advocate for everyone drinking 128 ounces of water a day, the point is that the amount of water a healthy adult needs to stay hydrated can vary quite a bit. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer because there are many factors that can affect our hydration needs.

Factors Affecting Water Needs

Here are some of the factors that affect how much water you need to drink every day. 

1. Age
2. Gender
3. Body weight
4. Overall health
5. Medications
6. Level of physical activity
7. Temperature and level of humidity outside
8. Dry heat inside
9. Drinking alcohol

For instance, if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, you may need to drink more fluids to stay hydrated. Similarly, if you engage in intense physical activity, you’ll need to drink extra water to compensate for fluid loss. 

In addition to all of these factors, we lose water throughout the day through our urine and bowel movements, sweating, and simply breathing. It’s important to remember that with water making up so much of our body, we have to maintain that 50-70% amount in order to be healthy and function correctly. If we’re losing water in all of these different ways, it has to be replaced.

Guidelines for Water Consumption

So, how much water should you drink? According to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, a good rule of thumb for a healthy adult is to get an average of 91 ounces of total water each day for women and 125 ounces for men. But remember, this includes total water intake and can be consumed through various beverages and foods with high water content, like watermelon and cucumbers.

To more accurately estimate how much water you should drink, you can use your body weight. Penn Medicine recommends drinking 0.5 to 1 ounce of water for each pound of body weight. If you are generally healthy but fairly sedentary, your minimum should be .5 ounces for each pound of body weight. But depending on other factors influencing how much water you lose each day, it’s not at all out of the question that you may need 1 ounce for each pound of body weight.

This chart offers a quick reference:

Additional Guidelines for How Much Water to Drink Every Day

Here are some additional guidelines for how much water to drink every day.

For every 30 minutes that you exercise, you’ll need to add 12 ounces of water to your daily amount. If you’re exercising outside and it’s really hot, add more. Drinking alcohol? You should be adding 16 ounces of water for every alcoholic drink – preferably sipping on the water while you drink the other. 

If you’re relying on your overall diet to help with your daily water intake, you have to make sure that you’re eating fairly healthy. You can feel comfortable that you’re probably getting close to 20% of your water needs from food if you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. If you don’t, you’re going to need to get your water by drinking it. You can do that by drinking other beverages besides water, but you need to make sure that they don’t contain too much sugar or other unhealthy additives or preservatives. 

Consequences of Inadequate Water Intake

Inadequate water intake can lead to dehydration, which can affect your physical and mental performance. If you are healthy overall but start to feel sluggish or develop brain fog, the first thing you should do is start drinking water. You may be amazed at the difference it can make both immediately and for how you feel over the long term. 

In fact, many studies have shown that not drinking enough water over time can contribute to a number of health conditions, including kidney stones, urinary tract infections, and constipation – just to name a few. 

According to Cleveland Clinic, in acute, severe cases, inadequate fluid intake can cause heat stroke, brain damage, or even death. 

In other words, our bodies have to have plenty of water! Just like plants, if we don’t get enough, we’ll wither. 

Signs of Dehydration

You may have heard that the most reliable indicator that you’re starting to get dehydrated is if you’re thirsty. But that’s not necessarily true. In many cases, if you’re starting to feel thirsty, you’re already well on your way to dehydration. You should certainly drink water if you’re feeling thirsty, but your body gives you other helpful signs as well, sometimes long before you think you need to reach for a glass of water.

Here are some of the common symptoms of dehydration.

• Medium to dark yellow urine
• Dry skin
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Dry mouth
• Feeling thirsty
• Constipation
• Muscle cramps
• Low blood pressure
• High blood pressure

If you’re mildly dehydrated, you’ll need to drink more water to recover. If you’re severely dehydrated, you should seek medical care right away. 

Overhydration Risks

While it’s important to drink enough water, it’s also possible to drink too much. Mayo Clinic says this condition, called hyponatremia, occurs “when the concentration of sodium in your blood is abnormally low.” Drinking too much water can “cause low sodium by overwhelming the kidneys’ ability to excrete water.” 

Most healthy people who stay within the 0.5 to 1 ounce of water for each pound of body weight general rule, don’t usually have to worry about overhydration. But if your doctor says that you are at risk for hyponatremia, be sure to follow the guidelines that they give you for how much water you should be drinking each day. 

Bottom Line on How Much Water to Drink Every Day 

The bottom line on how much water to drink every day is that it can vary depending on individual needs and circumstances. If you’re unsure about your hydration needs, I would be happy to help you figure that out. If you know that you need to drink more water, but have trouble getting enough in each day, be sure to to check out my tips for drinking more water. Happy hydrating! 

The post How Much Water To Drink Every Day: A Detailed Guide appeared first on Peppermint Tea.

Growing up, I was not a water drinker. Even when I did start drinking it in early adulthood, I could easily get sidetracked because caffeine of some sort always took priority. Now, my drink selection is made up of herbal tea, 96 ounces of water a day, almond milk as part of my smoothie and the occasional glass of wine thrown in for good measure. If you’re thinking that 96 ounces of water sounds like it would be impossible to drink in one day, I can tell you that it really isn’t if I follow the simple routine that I’ve set for myself. Because I often have people asking me what that routine is or how I drink so much water, I wanted to share these 10 practical and budget-friendly tips for drinking more water that will help you stay healthy and hydrated.

Please Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases made through some of the links included in this post. You can read my disclosure policy here.

How Much Water Do We Need?

Before we get to how to drink more water, it’s important to have a fairly good idea of how much water we actually need. While this varies from person to person, there are general guidelines that are helpful to follow with most of them coming in quite a bit higher than the eight 8-ounce glasses a day or 64 ounces rule. I got my 96 ounces amount by following the advice of Dr. Brooke Goldner when I spoke with her about her journey from disease to health. That is an amount that definitely works well for me. 

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the Mayo Clinic follow the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s recommendation of about 11.5 cups per day (92 ounces) for women. Approximately 20 percent of that usually comes from food^1,. That means that we need to make sure that we’re drinking at least 74-80 ounces of water a day. 

Tips for Drinking More Water

Here are my tips for how to drink more water.

1. Get a 40-ounce water bottle

This is a crucial part of how I drink so much water every day. I know exactly how much is in my water bottle, and I know that it takes filling it up twice a day to get the majority of what I need. For me, the simpler that I can make things, the more likely they are to happen. Drinking two bottles is much easier for me to think about than six glasses. 

While the initial cost of investing in a good stainless steel water bottle may seem a little steep compared to the price of a soda or some other drink, just think about the fact that you’re going to use this bottle over and over again for years. There’s simply no comparison when it comes to cost. A re-usable bottle is the way to go. My favorite water bottle is Klean Kanteen’s Classic Stainless Steel 40-ounce Water Bottle (Affiliate Link). 

2. Sync drinking water with daily activities

If you sync drinking water with your daily activities, it simply becomes a regular part of your routine. For example, drink while you exercise; drink after every time you go to the bathroom (but not past 8 or 9pm); and drink water with every meal.

3. Drink 16 ounces first thing in the morning

Fill your 40-ounce water bottle first thing and drink nearly half of it within half an hour of waking up. Trust me, it’s a great way to help you feel good in the morning, and it puts you well on your way to achieving your goal of drinking more water. 

4. Drink 40 ounces by Noon

In addition to my 40-ounce water bottle, this is my second most important step in being able to drink so much water. If you drink at least 40 ounces by Noon, getting the rest in during the afternoon and early evening is a breeze. My general routine is to drink 40 ounces by Noon, my second 40 ounces by 5:30 p.m. and then have water for dinner. This makes sure that I’m spacing it out throughout the day, which lends itself to less frequent and more predictable bathroom breaks. 

5. Flavor water with fruit

If you aren’t already a water drinker, adding fruit may give you the flavor that you’re looking for to be inspired. Many people add lemon slices to their water, which is delicious in and of itself, but don’t forget that you can add other fruit as well. I like raspberries, strawberries and even kiwi. Once you get used to the more toned down, natural flavor of fruit in your water, you may find that drinking it without anything in it is more enjoyable as well. 

6. Replace at least one soda or other drink with water

If you usually drink soda, coffee or anything else with sugar or caffeine in it throughout the day, replace at least one of those with water. This is a great way to drink more water overall and to give your bank account a boost. Drinking water is so much cheaper than other drinks that if you do this on a daily basis, the amount that you save will really start to add up. 

7. Drink water 30 minutes before eating

Drinking water 30 minutes before eating is a good idea for both snacks and meals. In fact, a study published by The Obesity Society in 2009 shows that drinking water before a meal lowers the amount of calories consumed while eating². In other words, drinking water before eating makes you feel full and less likely to overeat. Along the same lines, if you start to feel hungry mid-morning or mid-afternoon, try drinking it before snacking. Wait 15 minutes or so and then see if you’re still feeling hungry. If so, have a healthy snack. 

8. Eat foods high in water content

Eating foods high in water content is an easy way to take in more water. Strawberries, watermelon, peaches and oranges are some of the fruits with a high water content. When it comes to vegetables, lettuce, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes and spinach are good options^3,4,5,6,7. 

9. Drink herbal tea with no caffeine 

This is my personal preference speaking here. Yes, coffee and caffeinated tea and any other beverages made with water count toward your overall water intake⁸, but I’m always going to advocate for as little caffeine as possible. In my book, herbal tea is like flavored water with many health benefits. 

10. Set alarm for drinking water every hour

If you really need to kickstart your water drinking habit, setting an hourly alarm is a good reminder. This is a good way to space your water consumption throughout the day. 

Bottom Line

The bottom line on drinking more water is that once you start doing it, you will likely find that it’s easier than you thought it would be and more naturally what you want on a daily basis. If you use any of these tips to help you get started, be sure and let us know how it’s going in the comments below. 

If you’re wondering how much water you should be drinking in the first place, be sure and read How Much Water to Drink Every Day: A Detailed Guide.

Sources

1. Eat Right. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. How Much Water Do You Need?https://www.eatright.org/food/nutrition/healthy-eating/how-much-water-do-you-need
2. Dennis EA, Dengo AL, Comber DL, Flack KD, Savla J, Davy KP, Davy BM. Water consumption increases weight loss during a hypocaloric diet intervention in middle-aged and older adults. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2010 Feb;18(2):300-7. doi: 10.1038/oby.2009.235. Epub 2009 Aug 6. PMID: 19661958; PMCID: PMC2859815. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19661958/
3. NutritionData. https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2477/2
4. NutritionData. https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2439/2
5. NutritionData. https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2639/2
6. NutritionData. https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2682/2
7. NutritionData. https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2626/2
8. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The Nutrition Source. Water. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/water/

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