Signs of Dehydration and When to Drink More Water

Everyone knows that drinking water is important to good health and well being, but most of us don’t know how important.

Well, the truth is that water is actually more important than food.

I say this because you can survive for around 21 days (three weeks approximately) without eating any food. Guess how long you can live without drinking water?

Three to seven days on average.

The fact that the human body can only survive a few days without water is a perfect illustration of how important water is. In fact, the air we breathe is quite possibly the only natural resource that is more important than water.

Your Body Needs Water Far More Than You Think…

Not consuming any water will lead to death in a matter of a few days, but drinking too little could be incredibly harmful as well. Long term chronic dehydration can lead to serious health issues. This is because your body needs an adequate amount of water to perform all of its necessary daily functions.

There is an enormous amount of academic literature showing how important water is to the smooth running of the human body. This is a fact that will not come as a surprise to you. Especially when you consider that our bodies are between 55-65 percent water.

Your body needs water for a lot more than simply quenching thirst. For instance, the body uses water to regulate its temperature, digest food, and circulate blood. It even needs water to do the most basic things like keeping your mouth moist.

75 Percent of Americans are Chronically Dehydrated.

The most disturbing fact is that most Americans (around 75 percent) are chronically dehydrated (according to doctors). The result of this can be serious health issues. For example, research studies indicate that consistent chronic dehydration can contribute to everything from migraines to heart problems (as published in the American Journal of Epidemiology).

Why are the majority of Americans dehydrated? Well, one reason could be because most people don’t know how to properly calculate their daily water intake. Which makes sense when you think about it, when people can’t correctly work out what their daily water intake should be, then they are less likely to drink enough.

Calculating the Right Daily Water Intake.

The old (and now outdated) adage is that you must drink eight glasses of water a day. However, there is absolutely no scientific basis for this claim. In fact, experts will tell you that the right amount of water to drink each day depends on you. In other words, your correct daily water intake will depend on your size, weight, level of physical activity, and the temperature of your climate. Use a daily water calculator to work out the correct amount of water your body needs each day.

When Should You Drink Even More Water?

Another major issue is that people often don’t drink more water when they need to. The vast majority of us are aware we need to drink more water when we are at the gym, are more physically active, or are in very hot weather.

However, did you know that you should be drinking more water when you’re sick or unwell?

Drinking water when you’re not feeling well helps with the recovery process. This is why doctors will often tell you to get lots of rest and drink a lot of fluids when you are sick.

There are so many facts about water that can help maintain your health and improve your self-care. All of these are easily digestible with the infographic presented below. It is a complete A-Z of hydration and health.

If you need more information, analysis, breakdown then visit the original water infographic article that contains more facts as well as full scientific citations.