The human body is made up of about two-thirds water. And at every moment of the day, we are gradually losing some of that water through evaporation, perspiration, or urination. Thus, you can only imagine how important it is to be replenishing the water in our bodies regularly throughout the day!
Most of us have probably heard of the popular guideline regarding drinking water – that’s 8 glasses of water a day. But is this really true? How do we know if we really need 8 glasses of water a day?
Everyone’s daily requirements are different
First, we must establish that everyone’s body is different. Some people need to drink more water, while others can get by with less. If you lead an active lifestyle and exercise a lot, you will probably need more water than the person who lives a more sedentary lifestyle. People who are unwell with conditions like diarrhoea or vomiting will also need more fluid intake to prevent dehydration.
There is no firm evidence to say that one has to drink 8 glasses of water a day to be healthy, or that drinking any less is harmful. So, while easy to remember, this is definitely not a hard and fast rule!
Our hydration doesn’t only come from water
Another misconception from this common recommendation is this: Our hydration doesn’t only come from drinking water. This means we don’t have to be gulping down 2 litres of water each day. Our bodies also obtain fluids from food and other beverages we drink.
When we munch on fruits and veggies and drink soup or milk, our bodies are also replenishing its water supply. So, you don’t have to worry if you are not hitting that 8-glass target for water – you can comfort yourself knowing that you are receiving water in many other ways!
Listen to your body
As mentioned, everyone’s body has different requirements. So how do we know if our body is having enough fluids?
Thankfully, the human body is built intelligently. We have an in-built mechanism to tell us when we need more water – that is, we feel thirsty! If you respond promptly to your body’s calling for water by drinking water when you are thirsty, chances are, you should be getting sufficient fluids. Other indications that your body may be lacking hydration is fatigue, dizziness, headache, and dry mouth or lips.
Conclusion
As you can see, the issue of how much water to drink each day isn’t actually such a worrying point. What might be more worthy of our attention is the quality of the water we drink.
With water taking up so much of our bodies and consumption, we definitely want to make sure what we put into our bodies is not harmful to our health. Having a water purifier dispenser at home can give you one less thing to worry about, as you can be assured of good-quality, clean drinking water every day. Check out our tankless instant hot water dispenser options for some very compact and convenient water dispensers you can get!