How much water should you drink a day? Lots of people don’t have the idea of what happens when they drink water. A glass of water can impact both our mental and physical health. It also helps us with your efforts in weight loss. As per studies the best times to drink water also depend upon the size of your water intake.
As per a recent study, drinking just 2 cups of water, which is smaller than the size of a bottled soda, before meals helped dieters lose an extra five pounds yearly and help you maintain your weight loss. Additionally drinking the right amount of water daily can actually speed up your metabolic rate and help to curb overeating when your body confused hunger and thirst.
Now the question is how much water should you drink a day? It’s widely held that we should be consuming 64 ounces of water per day or eight eight-ounce glasses of water. But is this true? is there actually any research behind this recommendation?
More importantly, how much water should we really be drinking each day? So in this article, we will look at the best times to drink water along with its benefits.
How much water should you drink a day?
When it comes to water intake, the answer varies from person to person. While the current Dietary Reference Intakes advise an intake of approximately 9 cups per day for women and 13 cups for men, fluid requirements can also vary based on age, activity level, and even your climate.
Most people count beverages like coffee and tea into hydration intake and some even consider consumption these beverages have a negative impact on hydration levels.
However, the fact is that along with these beverages products like watermelon, celery, and iceberg lettuce are high in water content and contribute to our intake. Even meat, fish, and eggs can contribute to water intake.
When it comes to how much water should you drink a day, the answer is to just go with your gut. Drink when you’re thirsty and stop when you’re not. While travelling keep a reusable water botter as this will come handy to stay hydrated.
How to Know If You’re Dehydrated?
The human body gives several indications of dehydration. Intense thirst is the most obvious indication of dehydration, however, there are several other major signs that your body needs water.
While intense thirst is the most obvious red flag, there are several other major signs that could mean you need to up that water intake.
The human brain is composed of 80 percent water hence needs to stay hydrated to function properly. With dehydration, headaches actually come as the first sign. Apart from that, you may get brain shrinkage, reduced oxygen and blood flow, and ultimately painful swelling and inflammation.
Dry skin, eyes, or mouth, as well as dark urine, are also typical side effects of dehydration. Low energy, muscle cramps or spasm, and feeling disoriented are common side effects after a prolonged period of inadequate water consumption.
Furthermore, we can even become dehydrated in extreme temperatures both hot and cold. So it’s important to adjust our water intake based on our climate conditions.
What are the benefits of drinking enough water daily?
Water is necessary for our bodies to functions correctly and efficiently. It also helps keep our digestive system steady, promotes healthy skin, prevents headaches, and keeps our mind sharp. Water is vital to our health and can have a huge impact on our overall health.
Some studies even show that those who stay hydrated have a lower risk for several chronic diseases. This is another reason to stay hydrated. Here are the key benefits of staying hydrated:
- It helps in digestion as it digests solid food and absorbs nutrients properly.
- Drinking water will help in flushing out toxins and sodium from your body that can cause bloating.
- Drinking at least 8 cups of water a day will improve your metabolism performance.
- Water is crucial for kidneys and other bodily functions.
- Potentially lowers the risk for disease in the future such as cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney stones, and stroke.
- It helps you to stay hydrated and protects your skin from skin disorders and wrinkling.
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Best Times To Drink Water
- Drink Water When You Wake up as it helps in bowel movement.
- Drinking a glass of water before your meal makes you feel.
- It’s perfect to drink enough water before your exercise.
- Drinking enough water after a workout, it’s best to drink after 10 minutes to gain lost energy.
- Drink more water when you’re sick.
- If you’re feeling tired then drink a glass or two of water.
- It’s better to drink a glass of water if you feel hungry.
Benefits of Drinking Water
After getting the answer to how much water should you drink a day its time to know about its benefits. While drinking an adequate amount of water helps in improving body metabolism, there are some other important benefits that will motivate you to drink it at least 8 cups a day.
Dehydration can lead to many digestive problems like constipation, acidic stomach and increases the risk of heartburn and stomach ulcers. So it’s important that you should drink enough water to stay fit.
Water also helps with weight loss, bowel movement and is essential for the kidneys to function. Insufficient water can lead to kidney stones and other problems. If you will not drink enough water then your skin will look more dry and wrinkled. It also helps you with controlling your calories.
When To Avoid Drinking Water
While there are many benefits of drinking water, there are certain times when you should avoid drinking it or else it will impact your health badly.
- Avoid drinking water during an intense workout as it can have negative side effects and you may suffer from a headache, dizziness, nausea.
- Try to avoid drinking water right before, during or after having a meal as it can cause indigestion.
- If you’ve already had lots of water throughout the day then avoid drinking it further as excessive liquid intake may lead to low sodium levels and many other side effects.
The Bottom Line
It’s important that you drink enough water during the day, however, it can produce side effects if you consume an excessive amount of it.
According to the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the average recommended daily intake of water from both food and drink is around 3.7 liters for men and around 2.7 liters for women. So it’s better you should keep track of your water intake.