Inadequate hydration, even if you don’t realise the shortfall, is linked to lousy moods, higher disease risk, and now: shorter life. Find out how much water you need and how to know if you’re getting enough.
You are 55–60% water. You need lots of it every day to keep your body and mind functioning properly. A mere three days without water and poof, you’re gone. But new research adds to a steady stream of evidence for damage done to the mind and body, on a daily basis and over time, by shortfalls you might not even notice each day.
A sufficient supply of water allows food to properly digest. It cleans your brain and bloodstream of toxins, regulates blood pressure and body temperature, and lubricates your joints. Naturally, you’re constantly losing water through pee and sweat. If you don’t consistently replace it, a water shortage can develop quickly. Mild dehydration, though you may not be consciously aware of it, can…
- worsen your mood
- blunt your ability to think clearly
- hamper sleep and sap your energy
- cut into your productivity and physical performance
- raise the risk of heart attack and depression
- and even cause you to eat too much.
The new study reveals that over time, people who don’t drink enough water on a regular basis tend to age more quickly, develop chronic illnesses ranging from heart disease and diabetes to dementia, and die younger.
The finding, published today in the journal eBioMedicine, was based on the health status of 11,255 adults and periodic measurements of the levels of sodium in their bloodstreams. Excess sodium indicates lack of fluid intake. Compared to those with lower sodium levels, people with higher but still normal sodium levels in middle age were, over the next 25 years…
- 21% more likely to die prematurely
- 39% more likely to develop chronic diseases
- 50% more likely to be biologically older than their chronological age
The study does not prove cause-and-effect, the researchers said, but it suggests a link between hydration, aging, and health outcomes, one that needs further research to be confirmed or refuted.
“The results suggest that proper hydration may slow down aging and prolong a disease-free life,” said study team member Natalia Dmitrieva, PhD, a cardiovascular regenerative medicine researcher at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
How much water you really need
Surprisingly, there are no formal governmental guidelines for water intake. How much you need depends on your weight, how active you are, and a range of other factors.
You might’ve heard of the “8×8” rule, advising you to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily. It’s bunk, as I’ve reported previously, and nobody even knows for sure where the idea came from. Similarly, the “drink before you’re thirsty” advice has no firm basis in science, unless you’re outside on a hot day or exercising vigorously, or both, in which case you should absolutely stay ahead of the need.
Various independent health organizations do offer a consensus on daily H2O consumption: 11.4 cups for the average woman and 15.6 cups for the average man. Most of us aren’t exactly average, of course, so your mileage may vary.
Regardless — and this is super important — the guidelines are based on total fluid intake, not just straight water. The average adult is thought to get about 20% of their recommended water intake through food, while the rest comes from regular water as well as other fluids. Soup, non-alcoholic beverages and even coffee count (caffeine does not dehydrate you, despite the myth).
Produce figures in significantly, offering the double bonus of good nutrition. Consider these fruits and vegetables that consist of at least 90% water:
Juice has lots of water, too, but don’t be fooled: Most juices at the supermarket are not fit for healthy human consumption, being devoid of fruit and made instead from sugar, or they contain a splash of real juice and gobs of added sugar. Even pure fruit juices are generally poor nutrition choices since most of the nutrients and fibre have been squeezed out of the fruits. Compared to actual fruit, juice is basically bad for adults, and terrible for kids. Sorry, but that’s the science.
Plain ol’ water, on the other hand, is quite good for you and 100% calorie-free.
Signs you’re not getting enough
Given all the variables and the fuzzy advice, it’s important to recognize when you’re thirsty. Your brain is actually programmed to tell you, based on signals that your blood is too salty. So, if you feel thirsty, drink up. However, not everyone has the same thirst-sensation threshold or trigger, so this method isn’t foolproof, and you don’t want to fall behind. Older people are especially prone to not taking in enough fluids.
When urine turns very yellow or dark, dehydration has already set in. Other signs of dehydration: fatigue, headache, fever, dizziness, bad breath, dry skin, muscle cramps.
Perhaps the best advice, experts tell me, is to pay attention to your input and your output and your moods and energy level, then use common sense to make sure you’re getting enough water, from all the healthy sources. Some simple tactics to encourage more fluid intake and better health:
- Keep an insulated water bottle at your desk at work, or in your car, or wherever you are.
- If you sit a lot, get up and fetch water periodically — the movement is really good for you, too.
- Link water drinking to other routines and habits. For example: Have a glass when you first get up in the morning, and before each meal and before snacks, which will also help you control calorie intake.
- Replace one daily snack — that afternoon cookie, for example — with a piece of juicy, delicious fruit.
Prepare to pee
If you get enough water, you will have to let some of it out, perhaps more often as you get older. But how often you need to pee involves many factors that vary from person to person.
Human bladder capacities range considerably, from about 1.5 to 2.5 cups. We all have different “normal” urination frequencies based also on body size, physical activity, and even air temperature and humidity.
While there’s no medical ideal for urination frequency, the general consensus is it’s normal to pee up to eight times every 24 hours.
Waking up to pee once or twice at night, by the way, is considered normal. If you need to pee more than that at night, or you struggle to get back to sleep after a trip to the bathroom, try getting all your water intake earlier in the day, and stop eating and drinking about three hours before bedtime. That behavioural change alone will promote better sleep, which will give you more energy the next day so that maybe, just maybe, you’ll get more physical activity which, by the way, is one way to curb excess peeing.
