WATER MAKES up 60% of your body weight, which is why keeping an eye on your daily intake is vital. But how much water should I drink per day and why is it so important?
Hydration is an essential part of looking after yourself and creating exercise times to help maintain a good mental health, especially as we work long hours and all kinds of shift patterns. We also need to consider that we are now in Spring and heading a Summer which will raise the temperatures.
You've probably heard the suggestion that eight glasses of water per day will keep you well-hydrated. While this is a good amount to aim for, your individual needs vary depending on how much exercise you do, where you live and your general health and wellbeing.
If you do a lot of exercise, you'll need to compensate the water you lose through sweating by drinking more. And if you're exercising intensively for more than an hour, it's a good idea to replace the minerals in your blood that you lose through sweating (electrolytes). The same goes for when you're holidaying - or living - in a hot and humid climate where you'll be sweating more than if you were somewhere cooler. If this is the case make sure to top up on fluids more frequently.
Certain illnesses will also affect your hydration. If diarrhoea or a sickness bug has left you feeling weak and feeble it's partly because your body is de-hydrated. Medical professionals often suggest an increased water intake for urinary tract infections and urinary tract stones.
In terms of how much water the average person in the UK should aim to consume per day, The National Academies of Sciences and Medicine suggest an adequate daily fluid intake is:
- About 3.7 litres (3700ml) per day for men
- About 2.7 litres (2700ml) per day for women
Benefits of water
If you think about it every human body is made up of 60% water… which means staying hydrated is crucial for your survival. Your cells, your bodily tissue and your organs all rely on water to keep functioning normally and a lack of fluids can result in a lack of energy, so make sure to keep topping up throughout the day.
There are all sorts of benefits that come with drinking plenty of water including:
- Regulation of temperature
- Cushioning of your joints
- Keeps you urinating regularly which in turn gets rid of unwanted waste
It's not just water that keeps you hydrated
It's easy to think that staying hydrated revolves around your eight glasses of water per day when in fact a significant amount of it can be found in food. About 20 percent of your daily fluid intake actually comes from foods like spinach or watermelon which are both almost 100 percent water by weight. It's also easy to forget things like tea, coffee and milk which also contribute to you daily water intake. Staying hydrated means eating lots of fruit and vegetables every day too, an added bonus for your health and wellbeing!
We all come into work and it gets busy, before you know it six hours have passed and you have not had a drink yet! When you start to hydrate properly you may find you need to urinate more! Think of your body like a plant if you have not watered it sufficiently and suddenly start, the water pours through the soil. Once it’s hydrated it holds the water better and stops leaking so much. Your body is the same, give it time and your hydration will get to a level it should be at.
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