D<\/span>rinking water and staying hydrated is such a simple thing until you mix in the complexities and fast-paced nature of daily life. How often have hours gone by as you are busy with a task (or multiple tasks) before realizing you haven\u2019t paused to drink anything?<\/p>\n Add into the equation mixed messages about how much to drink, advice about what to drink, and tips on the best ways to stay hydrated, and this simple act \u2013 drinking water every day to stay hydrated \u2013 becomes more complicated than it needs to be.<\/p>\n We can\u2019t address everything about hydration in one article, but we can dispel some of the commonly believed myths that currently exist.<\/p>\n Reality:<\/strong> Thirst is a reliable indicator of dehydration, but it\u2019s not enough to rely on thirst alone.<\/p>\n Our bodies are indeed very good at sending messages to our brain that we are dehydrated and need to drink. However, this doesn\u2019t mean you can rely on thirst alone to keep you hydrated.<\/p>\n In fact, many experts believe that by the time you feel thirsty, you are already in the early stages of dehydration. As the goal is to stay hydrated throughout the day, being slightly dehydrated before you drink is not a good situation.<\/p>\n Reality:<\/strong> For most people, the opposite is true, as caffeinated drinks help keep you hydrated.<\/p>\n Caffeine can have a diuretic effect on the body, so it can contribute to dehydration. However, you have to drink a large amount of caffeine for this to happen. The specific amount varies from person to person, but you would need to drink about 300 mg of caffeine before the diuretic effect begins. That\u2019s about three cups of coffee.<\/p>\n Reality:<\/strong> Other drinks contribute to hydration too<\/p>\n Just about everything you drink contributes to your hydration levels. This includes drinks like caffeine, as mentioned in the above point, and alcohol.<\/p>\n Even the food you eat helps keep you hydrated, particularly fruit and vegetables. Watermelons and cucumbers are good examples.<\/p>\n Of course, water does hydrate you, plus it has other benefits, including the fact it has zero calories. Therefore, it is usually the recommended option, particularly compared to drinks that are very high in sugar.<\/p>\n The fact is, though, everything you drink through the day, as well as parts of your diet, also contribute to hydration levels.<\/p>\n Reality:<\/strong> Daily hydration requirements vary from person to person.<\/p>\n This is one of the strangest of the myths on this list, although it is also the one that is probably most widespread.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the thing: how could the hydration requirement be the same for a healthy 5\u20193 woman weighing 125 lbs and living in a cold climate compared to an unhealthy 6\u20192 man weighing 260 lbs and living in a hot climate?<\/p>\n The answer is it couldn\u2019t, i.e., the recommended hydration requirement for the man would be higher than for the woman.<\/p>\n So, the eight glasses a day recommendation is a myth.<\/p>\n Instead, you need to look at a range of factors to determine how much you should drink every day. Those factors include:<\/p>\n \u2022 Height\n\u2022 Weight\n\u2022 Age\n\u2022 Level of physical activity you engage in\n\u2022 The climate you live in<\/p>\n Other factors influence recommended hydration levels too. For example, pregnant women need to drink more every day, and you should also increase the amount you drink if you are sick.<\/p>\n Reality<\/strong>: You can over-hydrate, and it can be dangerous.<\/p>\n Over-drinking water generally has no real impact, except sending you on trips to the bathroom more often than necessary.<\/p>\n That said, it\u2019s also important to point out that drinking excessive amounts of water can be very dangerous as it can cause a condition called hyponatremia. At its most severe, hyponatremia can be fatal.<\/p>\n The best advice is to find out the right hydration level for your height, weight, and lifestyle, and stick to that amount every day, increasing your water intake as required if you are ill or are taking part in strenuous exercise.<\/p>\n Staying hydrated every day is good for you for a range of different reasons. It is not a complex task, however. Debunking these hydration myths is a good way to start reducing the complexity of hydration.<\/p>\n Why water is important to your health … Dispelling the Myths of Hydration<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10817,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[134,136],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-winter-2021","category-winter-2021-columns"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10777"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11129,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10777\/revisions\/11129"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Myth:<\/strong> Thirst is a Reliable Indicator of When You Need to Drink, So It\u2019s All You Need<\/h3>\n
Myth:<\/strong> Drinking Caffeine Dehydrates You<\/h3>\n
Myth:<\/strong> You Have to Drink Water to Hydrate<\/h3>\n
Myth:<\/strong> You Should Drink Eight Glasses of Water a Day<\/h3>\n
Myth<\/strong>: You Can’t Over-Hydrate<\/h3>\n
Staying Hydrated for Healthy Living<\/h3>\n
Kriss Smolka is the creator of the health & fitness app WaterMinder<\/a> and author of Water Wellness<\/em><\/a>.<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"