Water gets a lot of attention, and for good reason. The average adult body is made up of 60% water, and H2O is crucial for nearly every bodily function. This includes regulating temperature, delivering nutrients to cells, lubricating joints, and eliminating waste (i.e., preventing constipation).
While you probably don’t need to down six Stanley tumblers per day, staying hydrated is still incredibly important. And when you’re not drinking enough water, your body will let you know. The issue? The signs you’re not drinking enough water aren’t always super obvious.
We spoke with registered dietitians to find out not just how much water we should aim to drink per day, but the “weird” signs that you’re not getting enough. Here’s what they had to say.
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How Much Water Do You Need to Drink?
The exact amount of water you need to drink daily isn’t a one-size-fits-all number. “It really varies depending on the climate you live in,” registered dietitianKim Shapira, MS, RD, tells Parade. “If you’re in a humid environment or a dry one, you need more water than people in more balanced climates.”
That said, Shapira does have some advice to keep in mind when setting your own personal hydration goals.
“We get water in our fruits and vegetables, starches and milks,” she points out. “But I like to have eight additional cups of plain water to help our body run efficiently. If you work out in hot sun for longer than two hours, I recommend adding electrolytes to maintain your hydration status.”
“On average, people get about 20% of the water they need from food, which leaves about nine cups to drink for women and about 13 cups to drink for men,” Kristie Leigh, RD, director of nutrition and scientific affairs at Danone North America, adds. “I make sure to eat hydrating foods, like yogurt and fruit, daily and always have a reusable water bottle or a bottle of Evian on hand to make hydration a natural, easy part of my day.”
“A good rule of thumb is drinking half of your body weight in ounces of water each day, plus 16 to 20 ounces for every hour of exercise,” Maura Donovan, MS, RD, CSSD, medical education specialist, sports nutrition at Thorne, says. “For example, if a person weighs 150 pounds, they would need 75 ounces of water at baseline, not including additional hydration to account for exercise.”
Donovan also noted that pregnant people and athletes who have been sweating excessively may “require more water to maintain a healthy balance.” “Think of yourself as a plant,” Shapira suggests. “If your plant could talk to you, would it say that you’re already dehydrated or that you’re thriving?”
On a personal note, most of my houseplants are dead, so they wouldn’t say anything to me that I can publish here. In terms of how your own body tells you it’s thirsty, the signs may not always be obvious. Here are the most unexpected symptoms of dehydration.
Related: Doctors Are Begging You to Stop Making This Super-Common Hydration Mistake
6 Weird Signs You Need To Drink More Water
1. You’re craving sweets more than usual
According to Ashley Koff, RD, founder of The Better Nutrition Program and author of the upcoming book Your Best Shot, says that sugar cravings can be a sign that you’re not drinking enough water. This is especially true if you’re not normally someone with a sweet tooth!
2. You’re grumpy for no apparent reason
You know those Snickers commercials where celebrities get super hangry? As it turns out, being dehydrated can also make you feel not like yourself, Shapira tells us. If you’re experiencing mood swings or otherwise unexplained crankiness, try chugging some water and see if you feel any better in a few minutes.
Related: The #1 Benefit of Drinking Water That No One’s Talking About
3. You’re spacing out on basic things
Did you miss a turn on the drive to work that you take every single day? Leave wet laundry in the washer even though you heard the jingle? Take 45 minutes to finish something that normally takes you 10?
According to Tara Schmidt, M. Ed., RDN, lead dietitian at the Mayo Clinic Diet, another sign you need to drink more water may be one you actually associate with COVID-19 and long COVID instead of dehydration: Brain fog. If you find yourself generally thinking a little more slowly or forgetting things, try to think back to the last time you had some H2O. If it’s far enough back that you can’t remember, drink up and see if your short-term memory and concentration improve.
Related: How to Get Rid of Brain Fog
4. You’re sluggish
According to Donovan and Shapira, if you’re moving about your day more slowly and sleepily than usual, even if you had a full eight hours of Zs the night before, dehydration may be the culprit.
5. You’re constipated
Shapira says that if you’re feeling irregular in more ways than one, it may be a sign that you need to drink more water: One often ignored sign that you’re not hydrating enough is constipation.
6. Your face looks and feels off
Hydrating your skin doesn’t involve just slathering on moisturizer. If the rest of your body is dehydrated, your skin and lips will likely be tight, flaky and dry too, Donovan tells Parade.
Two other signs of dehydration you may notice in your face, according to Leigh, are sunken eyes and “skin that doesn’t immediately flatten back out after being pinched, often called the ‘pinch test.'” That lack of elasticity is a sign that your skin—and your body—are very thirsty!
Related:Water Vs. Sports Drinks: Which Is Better for Hydration?
How To Know You’re Drinking Enough Water
This one is pretty easy for most people. “One of the easiest ways to gauge your hydration status is to look at the color of your urine,” Leigh tells us. “If it’s colorless or light yellow, you’re likely drinking enough water.”
“Pale yellow is a good sign of adequate hydration,” Schmidt concurs. “Anything darker or more concentrated is likely a sign to drink up.”
Koff explains there’s another bathroom habit that you can use as a litmus test for your hydration levels: “You can do my ‘are you a hose or a sponge’ experiment to see if you absorb water effectively: You want to see if after drinking eight to 12 ounces of water, how long it is until you have to pee. If it’s less than two hours, you likely need to work on absorbing water,” she says, noting that adding electrolytes to your diet can help.
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Sources
- Maura Donovan, MS, RD, CSSD
- Ashley Koff, RD
- Kristie Leigh, RD
- Tara Schmidt, M. Ed., RDN
- Kim Shapira, MS, RD