Are You Thirstier Than You Realise?

Water is essential for the human body – and many of us don’t drink enough. The impact of being dehydrated, or simply not having a high enough water intake each day can result in  anything from headaches to feelings of tension and stress. So, how do you know if you’re drinking enough water every day and are you actually thirstier than you realise?

Why do we need to drink enough water?

Water makes up 50-70% of our body weight and we can’t survive without it. Even being mildly dehydrated can make you feel awful, which is why it’s so important to understand what your body needs when it comes to water and make sure that you’re getting enough of it. Every function in the body requires water to do its job properly – some of these include:

•  Ensuring that your body temperature remains stable.
• Helping to protect the more sensitive tissues in the body.
• Keeping your joints well lubricated.
• Removing waste products from the body via sweat or urination.

If you’re not drinking enough water then your body doesn’t have the resources it needs to complete these vital functions.

How much water do we actually need?

Drinking enough water will depend on who you are and how you live your life. That’s because we tend to lose water throughout the day, whether that’s simply through breathing or from sweating and bowel movements. So, it’s necessary to keep topping up your water levels throughout the day, depending on who you are and how active your life is. The general advice is to drink eight glasses of water every day and this is a good goal to aim for. However, it’s also worth keeping in mind the factors that may mean that you need to drink more. For example:

• Exercising. If you’re regularly working out, walking, running, cycling etc then you’re going to sweat a lot more than if you were simply sitting still. It’s vital to ensure you are hydrated before and after a workout.
• The environment you’re in. For example, if you’re in a hot and humid environment then you’re going to sweat more – and need to drink more – than someone in a cooler place.
• How healthy you are. When we’re healthy we can stick to the regular guidance for drinking water. However, when you have a fever or are losing fluids through vomiting or diarrhea then you may need to drink more.
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding. During this phase of motherhood, more fluids are necessary to stay hydrated because of those that you’re losing.

How do you know if you’re drinking enough?

Being thirsty is the most obvious sign that you’re not drinking enough water. But if you’re not someone who really pays attention to how they feel in their body this can be easy to miss. So, check in regularly with whether you feel like you need to drink, how dry your mouth is etc. Urine colour is another easy way to determine where you are with it – if it’s colourless or light yellow then you’re drinking enough water.

Water is vital for human health and it’s important to make sure that you’re drinking enough of it. For more lifestyle tips download the MyLife365.Me app.