On average, water makes up 60% of body weight. It’s essential for a range of everyday bodily functions including the removal of toxins, temperature regulation and digestion. We can survive just three to five days without water and a chronic lack of water can lead to fatigue, constipation, asthma, allergies, high blood pressure and kidney problems.

Drinking plenty of water on the other hand can help us to feel more awake, more focused and less hungry, and can also help to improve a range of skin and digestive conditions. So just how much water should you be drinking everyday and would an extra glass of H2O revolutionise the way you feel?

Recommendations

Throughout the day, you’ll lose around ten glasses of water. This happens when you breathe, urinate and sweat and will leave you feeling thirsty and dehydrated whether you’re out exercising or at home on the sofa.

According the Association of UK Dietitians, adult men should be drinking around two litres of water a day while women need around 1,600ml of H2O. Children don’t need quite as much water with one to three year olds requiring around a litre of water, four to eight-year olds 1.2 litres and kids aged nine to thirteen needing approximately 1.5 litres a day.

This works out at around eight to ten glasses of water a day, though you can get H2O from other sources like tea, juice and milk.

Do some people need more water?

These recommendations are only guidelines, and different people will have different needs. If you do lots of exercise throughout the day, work in hot conditions or are tall or overweight, you’ll need to drink more water to keep your hydration topped up.

If your kids are part of after school sports clubs you need to be aware that they’ll need extra H2O on the days when they’re more active, so giving them a refillable water bottle to use is essential. Hot weather will also cause you to lose water more quickly, especially if you’re physically active in the middle of the day.

In warm weather, it’s a good idea to be vigilant, drink water on a regular basis and take a break from what you’re doing if you begin to feel dizzy, confused or tired.

To find out more about the health benefits of water, explore our site today.

[Photo by nardb8]