What Happens When You Drink Too Much Water?

Without water, we couldn't survive. However, excessive drinking can harm both our bodies and brains. If you consume more water than your kidneys can handle, your blood salt levels may become compromised. It's referred to as water intoxication. Additionally, it has the potential to result in death, comas, and severe brain damage. When you hear the word poison, what comes to mind? Arsenic? Cyanide? Consider water.

Without water, life would not be possible. However, under the correct conditions, water can be just as harmful as any toxin. What occurs when you consume too much water is as follows.

Your kidneys remove extra waste and water from your bloodstream through filtration. But the amount of water they can digest in an hour is only 800-1,000 mL. And you could get into trouble if you manage to consume more than that without passing out. because you're consuming alcohol more quickly than your kidneys can handle it. The extra ends up in your cells.

Without water, we would perish. However, drinking excessively can harm both our bodies and brains. Your blood salt levels may become out of balance if you consume more water than your kidneys can handle. Water intoxication is what that is. In severe circumstances, it may possibly result in death or brain damage.

The sodium and water solution that normally surrounds your cells is precisely balanced. This solution enters and exits the cell through microscopic holes in the cellular membrane to maintain a constant sodium concentration within and outside the cell. But the salt solution becomes diluted if you consume too much water. Not enough salt is added. In order to restore some equilibrium, part of the additional water rushes into the cell, where it causes it to enlarge.

This condition is known as water intoxication and is quite problematic. Now that soft, stretchable tissue like fat and muscle can enlarge, the majority of your cells can manage the condition to some extent.

Your skull isn't elastic, so for the brain cells, it's a different story because of that. It is a bone. It is as hard as a rock. As a result, your head pressure increases as your brain enlarges. You may initially feel groggy, confused, or a headache. However, as the pressure builds, you run the risk of death, coma, and possibly brain damage. Additionally, it can all end in less than 10 hours.

For instance, a 64-year-old woman passed away the same evening after consuming 30 to 40 glasses of water. And after a demanding training day, a group of US Army recruits who had been drinking more than 2 liters per hour experienced vomiting and seizures. However, marathoners are the ones who need to take extra precautions. According to research, 1 in 6 marathon runners have mild to moderate water intoxication since the race puts their body under stress, including their kidneys. They therefore don't eliminate water as effectively, which makes it easier for water to back up into the blood.

Since they are unable to digest water properly and since the issue is not specific to water, people with specific renal conditions are also at risk. The same thing may occur, for instance, if you drink too much beer all at once. That is known as potomania.

The good news is that staying safe is simple. A healthy adult needs to consume about 3 to 4 liters of water each day on average. You should drink only when you're thirsty, and then you should stop. The extra water intake can also come from meals and other beverages.