Water — Stay Hydrated

October 13, 2022

Water is our life-giving liquid! Everything on earth needs water to survive and grow.

For people water boosts performance, improves mood, lubricates our joints, and maintains healthy function of our bowel, bladder, and brain. For the most part, water is free and readily available.

Adults and Water

For adults, water takes up 50 to 60 percent of our body mass. Brains and kidneys have the highest proportion of water at 80 to 85 percent, while teeth are only 8 to 10 percent water.

For the average person, five-and-a-half pints of water are lost through sweating, breathing, and body waste. Dehydration occurs when you don’t drink enough water to replace that loss. The symptoms range from low mood, foggy brain, kidney stones, and an increased risk of falls. In extreme cases, dehydration can lead to confusion, seizure, and even death.

Staying hydrated, as you can see, is extremely important. It keeps you functioning at your peak, both mentally and physically. To stay optimally hydrated, healthy people should have 30 to 60 ounces (about one to two liters) of water a day.

Good things about staying hydrated.

Top physical performance. Drinking plenty of water can help you perform at your peak.
It prevents electrolyte losses. Drinking water is sufficient for most people to rehydrate if they are exercising for less than 90 minutes.
It may prevent or treat headaches. Personal experience can attest to that. When I don’t drink enough water, I get headaches.
Hydration helps with brain function. Dehydration, as little as one to three percent of your body weight can impair your mood, memory, and concentration, and lead to feelings of anxiety and fatigue.
Water helps to cleanse your body. Your kidneys need water to filter waste from the blood and excrete it in the urine. Water helps prevent and relieve constipation and treats kidney stones.
It can help you lose weight. Water boosts your metabolic rate. Drinking cold water uses more energy (calories) to warm it up to body temperature.
It helps your tissues stay more supple. Water lubricates your joints, helps maintain elasticity of your skin, keeps your throat and lips moist, and prevents your mouth from getting dry — which can contribute to bad breath.