Signs You’re Not Drinking Enough Water

Signs You’re Not Drinking Enough Water

While it is super important that we drink enough water during the day, it is vastly more important to drink enough water during the summertime. Water is one of the building blocks of life. Adult humans are composed of 50-65% water, and our blood is 90% water. Our bodies need water to perform their bodily functions. Water helps lubricate our joints, forms saliva and mucus, delivers oxygen throughout the body, boosts skin health, regulates body temperature, and more! Keep reading to learn more about what happens when we drink enough water.

Why Do We Need Water?

Water is one of the life sources that almost all living creatures need. Our bodies are comprised of about 50-65% water. This water is found in our organs, tissues, blood, and intracellular space. It keeps our tissue lubricated, joints and muscles moving, and helps to keep our blood flowing. Water assists in our metabolism, boosts our immune system, and lubricates our eyes. It’s extremely important to stay hydrated throughout the day. Our bodies lose water through digestion, sweating, and even breathing to name a few. When you have fully hydrated your body, it functions better. Some benefits of drinking water include an increase in happiness, a strong heart, and good skin. There is no exact agreed-upon amount of water you should be drinking per day, the amount of water you should be drinking depends on a lot of factors. Some of these factors include the climate you live in, how active you are, or if you are sick or have any health problems.

Water protects your joints and tissues. It helps keep your organs and the tissues in your body moist. Keeping your body hydrated helps retain high levels of moisture in these areas, as well as in your brain, bones, joints, and blood. the disks in your spine and cartilage found in your joints contain around 80% water. Long periods of dehydration can reduce the joint’s shock-absorbing ability, which leads to joint pain.

Water that is stored in the middle layers of the skin comes to the surface when the body heats up. This is what happens when you sweat. Sweating is a bodily function that helps regulate your body temperature. The human body has an average of 3 million sweat glands. There are two types of sweat glands, eccrine, and apocrine. Eccrine sweat glands are located all over your body and produce a small odorless sweat. Apocrine sweat glands are concentrated in the hair follicles of your scalp, armpits, and groin. Apocrine glands release a heavier fat-laden sweat that carries a distinct odor. This odor is created when the apocrine sweat breaks down and mixes with the bacteria on your skin. When your body temperature rises, sweat is released through your sweat glands and moistens the surface of your body. Sweat cools you down as it evaporates. Sweat is mostly made up of water, but about 1% is salt and fat.

How Can I Tell if I’m Hydrated?

To tell if you are hydrated, your body will work as normal. When you urinate, the urine will either be clear or a very light yellow. You can also test your hydration levels with a skin test. The skin elasticity or trugor test is a popular and simple measurement of your skin’s elasticity. This skin test works best in children and younger adults. As you age your skin loses elasticity, causing poor skin trugor. As a result of this, an elderly person’s skin may take up to 20 seconds to return to normal, even if they aren’t dehydrated. The way to do the skin elasticity test is to lightly pinch your skin, usually on your arm or abdomen. If your skin takes longer than usual to spring back, this could be a sign of dehydration. While this test is not very precise, testing your skin trugor is painless and noninvasive.

If you are dehydrated, your urine will be dark yellow. There are many ways to recognize the symptoms of dehydration. Dehydration symptoms usually include

• Dizziness
• Headache
• Dry mouth
• Confusion
• Irritability
• Severe fatigue.
• Sometimes, people with severe dehydration will also get heat stroke.

In most cases, you can treat dehydration yourself just by drinking water. If you think your dehydration is due to an illness or medication please make an appointment to see your doctor. If your body goes into severe dehydration you should seek immediate medical attention. Symptoms of severe dehydration include stomach cramping, fainting or seizures, low blood pressure, heatstroke, delirium, or hallucinations.

What Are Some Activities to Keep Me Cool?

Overheating, or developing heatstroke will lead you faster to dehydration. Make sure to avoid excess time in the sun. Do not drink alcohol if you are going to not have much access to water, because it will dehydrate you quicker. If you are going to be in an area where there is little shade, take some time to relax in the shade. Finally, do not exercise much or perform strenuous activity in the sun.

Tips on Drinking More Water

Even if we understand that we should drink more water to stay hydrated, a lot of people are guilty of not replenishing their bodies with enough liquid. If drinking water seems to slip your mind here are 6 tips to help drink more water throughout the day.

• Set a reminder on your phone to drink 8 cups of water a day
• Carry a gallon of water with you to drink throughout the day
• Make water more enjoyable – add some fruit for natural flavor
• Drink a glass of water when you wake up and before any meals
• Make sure to drink water before, during, and after any exercise
• Do not drink an incredible amount of water during the day because this could actually flood your organs, and cause cells to burst

Final Thoughts

Do you drink enough water during the day? Did you know that 8 cups are recommended per day? Are there any tips that we didn’t mention to drinking enough water during the day? Comment below!