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Learn More →It's a common topic that has been debated many times, and there's a lot of confusing information out there, but if you've been wondering how much water you should drink, we're here to help you out.
Water is essential for our bodies to function optimally, as it plays a crucial role in various physiological processes. For example, it helps to regulate body temperature, aids in digestion, carries nutrients to our cells, lubricates the joints, flushes out waste products, and even affects our mental health.
You've likely heard that adults need to drink eight glasses of water per day. However, this guideline does not take into consideration the vast differences between individuals, such as age, body weight, and diet, or the fact that we obtain a significant amount of our daily water intake from the foods we consume.
While there are nuances to the following recommendation by the National Academy of Medicine, here's the quick answer to how much water an adult should drink per day for health:
Getting enough fluid may seem like a complex task, but don't worry—in this article, we'll not only delve into the benefits of water on the human body and explore the role of hydration in our overall well-being—we'll also give you some tips and tricks to boost your water drinking habit and shed some light on how water-rich foods contribute to the fulfillment of our daily water requirements.
Our powerful habit tracking platform, can help you stay on top of your hydration levels and develop a better water drinking habit.
Water is the foundation of life for most living species on earth, and it constitutes about 60% of our body weight. Needless to say, staying properly hydrated is essential for keeping the body functioning properly, as well as overall health.
Adequate hydration has a number of important effects on the human body, including:
On the opposite end of the scale, there are some negative effects to not consuming enough water, and some of these make it well worth improving your water intake.
Determining the ideal amount of water to drink daily can be challenging because it varies significantly based on factors like age, sex, weight, physical activity level, climate, and other individual variations.
For example, some people may need to drink more water due to certain medical conditions, medications, or lifestyle factors.
If you've spent some time looking into your fluid needs, you will likely have heard of the "8x8 rule" (eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day). While it is a commonly cited guideline, it's important to remember that it is a rough estimate and not based on scientific evidence.
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) offers a general recommendation for our daily water intake. For adult men, the NAM suggests a daily intake of about 3.7 liters (125 fl. oz. or around 13 cups) of total water, including from beverages and food.
For adult women, the recommended daily intake is about 2.7 liters (91 fl. oz. or about 9 cups) of total water, once again, from all sources, including moisture-rich foods and all beverages.
Contrary to popular belief, our hydration needs are not solely met by drinking water. Approximately 20% of our daily fluid intake comes from solid foods—especially fruits and vegetables with high water content.
Foods like watermelon, cucumbers, oranges, and lettuce have a lot of water in them, and they can contribute a significant amount towards overall hydration if eaten in large amounts. For example, watermelon consists of a whopping 92% water and is one of the most hydrating foods you can eat. Foods that are cooked with lots of water, like soups and stews, are also good sources of fluid intake.
Other beverages, which we may not think of as water sources, like milk, herbal teas, and even coffee, can also contribute to our daily fluid needs.
Caffeinated drinks like coffee or tea have long been thought to be dehydrating due to their diuretic effects, but according to the National Library of Medicine, recent science has shown that the amount of water in these beverages likely balances out the diuretic effect and may even contribute to hydration.
By including water-rich foods in our diet, we can enhance hydration while benefiting from the essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber they provide. This can be particularly helpful for individuals who struggle to consume large amounts of water throughout the day or engage in physically demanding activities that increase fluid loss.
Despite the fact that we get some of our fluid intake from certain foods and other beverages, drinking water is very much still necessary, and people who choose to quench their thirst only on sodas and other sugar-laden drinks are likely to suffer from illness and general low health. They also tend to suffer from spikes and dips in energy as a result of the sugar intake, and this can lead to mood swings, jitteriness, and anxiety.
It's important to note that exercise and sweating increase water loss, so people who exercise regularly, especially those who do intense workouts, will need to drink more water than the average sedentary person to remain fully hydrated.
Consumption of alcoholic beverages and other diuretics may also lead to increased fluid loss, and people who consume these beverages may need to drink additional water to maintain hydration.
To keep your hydration levels optimal, consider implementing the following habits:
Enjoy this helpful video that discusses the 8 glasses a day myth:
With Conjure, you can quickly and easily set up a Habit to drink a certain amount of water each day. For example, if you want to drink half a gallon of water each day, you can create a habit that you can mark off once you have completed the task.
If you'd like to take it one step further, you can track your water intake throughout the day by creating a “multiple times per day” habit and clicking the checkbox every time you drink a glass of water.
You can set it for specific days of the week and specific times of day, if you like, and you can set up “Emergency” completion types for days when there is a reason why you might miss your goal.
For example, you could set up a completion type called “Traveling,” which would allow you to mark your water goal as incomplete due to travel—after all, nobody wants to be running to the bathroom every 5 minutes on the plane!
You can also set up reminders so that you don't forget to drink water throughout the day. In the example below, I have set up a first reminder to drink water at 8 am every morning, and then set it to repeat every 2 hours after that until 8 pm. That way, I am reminded every 2 hours to drink some water, and it becomes easier to reach my goal of half a gallon a day.
The beauty of Conjure is that you can use it as simply or as complex as you like. The example above is a quick and simple way to set up your water habit and ensure that you remember to drink regularly.
Use Conjure to establish a water-drinking habit that sticks
Yes, it is possible to drink too much water. In this unlikely scenario, your kidneys wouldn't be able to process all the excess water, and the sodium content in your blood would become diluted. The name for this life-threatening condition is hyponatremia.
However, drinking enough water to cause hyponatremia is very difficult. A person with healthy kidneys should be able to process between 27 and 34 ounces of water each hour (800 ml to 1 liter), which adds up to a total of between 675 and 945 ounces (20 to 28 liters) in a day. I know I'm not in any danger!
You might be wondering when the best time is to drink water during the day. We all know that drinking too much water before bed can lead to a very interrupted night's sleep! So here are the 3 best times to drink water.
Other notable times to drink water include:
Many people think it is good to drink lots of water before going to sleep, but that's not necessarily true. Drinking some water is good for staving off the inevitable dehydration and keeping the heart and brain healthy through the night, but too much could cause too many interruptions through the night, damaging your sleep and causing sleep deprivation.
It's best to drink only a small amount of water before you go to sleep, like a half glass or less.
It was previously believed that diuretic drinks like tea and coffee were dehydrating, but we now know that the amount of water gained from them balances out the diuretic effects, and that they can indeed be counted toward your daily water intake.
The rule of thumb is that a human adult should consume half their pound weight in ounces. For example, a person weighing 150 lbs (68kg) should be consuming 75 ounces (about 2.2 liters) of water a day.
Bear in mind that this is the requirement from all sources for an inactive person. So if you are getting around 20% of your daily water intake from food, you would only need to be drinking 60 ounces (1.77 liters) of fluids each day.
This does not take into consideration fluids lost during strenuous exercise, so be sure to increase your fluid intake if you are working out.
Many people think that the lighter the color of their urine, the healthier they are, but that's not necessarily true. Urine is the waste product of the urinary tract, whose job it is to filter your blood. In short, urine is just filtered blood!
This means, firstly, that not getting enough water will make your urine darker because the blood is not being filtered properly, and secondly, that very light urine that looks like water is not actually totally healthy, and can be taken as a sign that you are over-hydrated. Your urine should be light yellow in color for optimal health.
While the exact amount of water needed for proper hydration varies from person to person, it is important to pay attention to your hydration levels for your overall well-being.
Water plays a vital role in maintaining optimal bodily functions, and it is essential to drink enough water and consume plenty of water-heavy foods to stay adequately hydrated.
By understanding the benefits of water and considering the contribution of food to our daily water intake, we can make informed choices to support our hydration needs.
Remember to listen to your body's signals, keep a water bottle handy, and incorporate water-rich foods into your diet for a balanced approach to hydration.
Also, remember to use Conjure to track your water habit and any other goals, and set reminders so you don't forget to drink.
Cheers to good health and staying hydrated!
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