As most people know, the benefits of drinking water are numerous and well-documented. If you drink water throughout your day, you may enjoy a decreased appetite and increased metabolism (and accompanying weight loss), greater alertness and productivity, and reduced risk of certain cancers.
You may also experience fewer headaches and backaches. Plus, you will boost your immune system, which means you’ll likely get sick less often and have milder symptoms if you catch a bug.
And these are just a few of the advantages you can look forward to if you drink more water. In short, you can expect drinking a lot of water to make you healthier and happier. But how much is “a lot”?
The Formula To Staying Hydrated
The human body consists of 50% to 70% water, so it’s not surprising that drinking a lot of water throughout the day is crucial. How much water a person needs to stay hydrated varies. Your ideal amount is based on things like your weight, activity level, the environment you’re in, and other factors.
A good starting point for your daily water consumption is to follow what’s referred to as the 8x8 rule. That means drinking eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. To be more exact, you should take your body weight, divide it in half, and that's how many ounces you should be drinking daily. Another approach is to drink between half and one ounce of water for every pound of your weight. So, you don’t have to drink a gallon of water a day—which some online sources may recommend—but consuming at least half a gallon is a good idea!
You may need to post some notes to remind you to drink or get a “drink water” app of some kind. There are plenty of water trackers out there. Then, as you start draining your eight glasses regularly, you can pay attention to the benefits of drinking water at that rate. You may decide you need to increase or decrease your water intake.
What Happens if You Don’t Drink Water?
The flip side of being fully hydrated is being dehydrated. Symptoms of dehydration in adults include extreme thirst, dark-colored urine, urinating less and also less frequently, confusion, and dizziness.
If you’re not drinking enough water, you may also experience fatigue. This is a common problem in the afternoon. Many people who lack energy between lunch and dinner think that means they should have a snack when, in fact, what their body needs is water!
The next time you experience the familiar “afternoon fade,” try drinking a tall glass of water. Then, give it 30 minutes or so to do its work, and you’ll probably find that you feel far more energized and alert.
Can You Drink Too Much Water?
As good as water is for your health, it is possible to get too much of a good thing. If you intentionally “force feed” yourself a large volume of water very quickly, it is possible to experience hyponatremia. This condition causes your sodium levels to get dangerously low.
However, it’s unlikely that you’ll develop hyponatremia unless you’re drinking an excessive amount of water—think 200-300 ounces in a few hours. That’s multiple gallons of water, so if you just heed your body’s signs that you’re full, you’ll never get close to that!
What type of water should you drink to stay hydrated? Mineral water? Distilled water? Drinking clean water from any water source is better than drinking no water. However, if you’re looking to support proper fluid intake, high-quality Eldorado Natural Spring Water may be the best water to drink.
For one thing, it’s naturally balanced, both in pH level and mineral content. Just as importantly, it has earned many awards for its taste—not just in the U.S. but around the world. That means your drinking water benefits come with a flavor bonus!
Wondering how much Eldorado Natural Spring Water you need? Our water estimator can help you decide.
