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blakevh t1_j6br6i0 wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in ELI5: why do our bodies randomly act like we haven’t had water in days and that we need to chug a bunch randomly? by Serratedlily

People used to say that you’re supposed to “drink x amounts of water per y”. I’m fairly sure that that’s been disputed and you should really just drink when thirsty. Preferably water.

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PhasmaFelis t1_j6ca8gp wrote

People keep telling me that. I'll feel like complete shit and have no idea why 'til I take a sip of water, find myself greedily guzzling the entire bottle, and realize I haven't had a drink in six hours.

"When you're thirsty" doesn't work for everyone.

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_Sign_ t1_j6cpv33 wrote

it sounds like the classic "eat when youre hungry" advice. some peoples internal sensors arent calibrated correctly and theyll go all day without eating or always overeat

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RandyHoward t1_j6cuvdn wrote

This is me. I really don't get hungry very often and as a result I tend to eat one meal a day.

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DoctorWaluigiTime t1_j6ct6s8 wrote

It's okay to not drink water that long. Your body will inform you when you're thirsty. I suggest next few times you are thirsty you don't chug the whole bottle all in one go, however.

And yes, "you must have X amount of water a day" is bunk. Your body will not let you get into states of dehydration (which occurs long after "I haven't had a drink in six hours" -- you do that every night when you sleep, and you aren't in a state of dehydration when you wake up).

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jamesbideaux t1_j6cun2m wrote

that said you probably won't exert yourself as much when sleeping as you do when actively moving around and sweating.

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DoctorWaluigiTime t1_j6cv36s wrote

Of course, but my point is that thirst or dehydration doesn't happen by virtue of "it's been 6 hours" or whatever. It takes a day+ at minimum to start getting to danger levels unless you are actively working out / doing more than hermit-ing in the household.

Which again, your body will inform you of this, long before you get to actual dehydration (headaches et al). "I'm thirsty" is not the same thing as "I'm in a state of dehydration."

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PhasmaFelis t1_j6f4o67 wrote

> Your body will inform you when you're thirsty.

My body doesn't. That's what I'm telling you. I feel like shit, I don't feel thirsty; as soon as I drink something I suddenly realize I'm thirsty, drink a bunch, and immediately feel better.

We're not talking about life-threatening dehydration. We're talking about thirsty enough to feel bad, but my body isn't sending "drink something" signals.

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maynardftw t1_j6cxie2 wrote

You kind of are

My friend who worked out could only manage to get ab definition in the morning after he woke up

You sweat a lot in your sleep

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illessen t1_j6buokb wrote

I’ve always been told, if you’re thirsty that you’re already dehydrated.

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BowzersMom t1_j6cjski wrote

That’s not true. Dehydration means you are taking in less water than you are losing to the point that your body isn’t working well. The first signs of mild dehydration include thirst, but also headaches, muscle cramps, dark urine, cool dry skin.

If you are just thirsty, you should drink some water. But just being a little thirsty doesn’t mean you are in danger of anything.

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Aristox t1_j6cob6e wrote

The first signs of dehydration are not headaches and muscle cramps lol that's when you're already well into it. Your physical and mental performance will have already been reduced by the time you feel thirsty. If you're correctly hydrating you won't experience any symptoms whatsoever

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BowzersMom t1_j6cwiwy wrote

….if you’re correctly hydrating you won’t be dehydrated. So of course you won’t experience symptoms of mild dehydration!

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BeneficialDog22 t1_j6c4qov wrote

Well yes, that's what thirsty means lol.

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Tiramitsunami t1_j6d2oyg wrote

That is not what being thirsty means. When you are thirsty you are down by a zillionth of a percent of what you'd need to be before you'd be close to dehydrated.

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RixirF t1_j6c7p5k wrote

No, people think it's okay to be thirsty, and it's not. If you're thirsty, it's too late and you're already dehydrated.

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UNFORTUNATE_POO_TANK t1_j6cc3hi wrote

What's too late? Your body has a very robust system to let you know if you need more water. You can go days without. Strongly not advised, but being thirsty doesn't mean too far gone in any way.

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RockinMadRiot t1_j6d1hz8 wrote

Think of it this way, the brain is 80% water. So just as much as 2% dehydration can really effect its performance and cause issues.

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Aristox t1_j6codeg wrote

Just because you don't die doesn't mean your physical and mental performance aren't reduced. You absolutely cannot go days without being dehydrated

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ThePhysicsOfBaseball t1_j6ccokp wrote

Sorry, no. The way most people talk about this, it's horse shit, although that doesn't stop the myths from persisting:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/hydration-myths-debunked-in-5-easy-sips-1.3155705

> Bottom line: for healthy people doing normal things under everyday conditions, nature has already provided the perfect tool, precisely calibrated to replace the fluids that are lost through exertion, perspiration, urination and other excretion. > >It's called "thirst." Use it, and you can stop sweating about hydration.

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DoctorWaluigiTime t1_j6ctbkp wrote

Indeed. If thirst meant dehydration, then everyone sleeping for 6+ hours a night would be dehydrated every morning lol.

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RockinMadRiot t1_j6d1n90 wrote

But you could argue that we aren't doing as much in our sleep so using less fluid, when awake that's a different matter as we are using everything, including our brains.

Edit: just re-read, yes I agree with you. Thirst is just a sign you are starting to get low and need water, if you ignore that then very likely you will have dehydration

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WeirdlyTallDwarf t1_j6chclu wrote

This is like saying "if you're hungry, you're already malnourished/starving".

Silly, is it not?

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Aristox t1_j6coiyn wrote

No it's radically different. If you haven't eaten enough food your body will burn fat for energy. But your body has no alternative hydration source. You can go a month easy without food, you cannot go more than a few days without water and still live. And you cannot go a few hours of being lightly dehydrated without your body's performance falling below optimal

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Tiramitsunami t1_j6d2gz2 wrote

You are almost NEVER dehydrated. It's a myth. You don't need to drink nearly as much water as the current fads make it seem. You certainly don't need a personal water bottle. If thirsty, drink, and that's all you ever need to do.

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LoneStar2911 t1_j6bzgee wrote

Disputed perhaps, but not disproven. At least, not to my knowledge. I would say the majority of doctors, biologists, etc still agree on “you should drink x amount” (typically depending on your body weight). But yes, I’ve heard of it being disputed. And as the other commenter said, I was also told that once you’re thirsty, you’re already showing signs of dehydration. Until it’s widely accepted that there’s no need to drink unless thirsty, I’ll stick to what I’ve been taught this far. Besides, I don’t like being thirsty. lol

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asingleshot7 t1_j6c3bim wrote

It is so variable that any advice besides "when you are thirsty" is pretty meaningless. There is wildly variable amounts of water in all the foods you eat and you lose water depending on activity, temperature, humidity, size, diet, and health. You can get some feedback from urine (clear is probably a little too much and dark yellow is not enough) but basically just listen to your body. It generally does a pretty good job.

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Lordcavalo t1_j6c2nc8 wrote

Whats been disproven it's not that people should drink x amount of water, that would be absurd, the problem is when people say "you have to drink 8 cups of water per day" which is false, most of the water we consume is through alimentation, people need their amount of water but it's not a fixed number, some people might need 8 cups others might not need at all

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UNFORTUNATE_POO_TANK t1_j6ccegg wrote

I don't know what alimentation is supposed to mean in this context, but generally yeah it just means giving your body nutrients. Drinking water is a form of alimentation, supplying your body with nutrients.

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Lordcavalo t1_j6cnj2v wrote

Yeah I'm sorry I could've just have written simple but I'm dumb, I meant food (rice, steak, chicken, ...)

I think that it's pretty clear now that English is not my first language 😂😂

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UNFORTUNATE_POO_TANK t1_j6dugdy wrote

No worries. No trying to call you out. Just trying to make sure I wasn't missing anything myself.

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LoneStar2911 t1_j6c2zdy wrote

Yeah, I pretty much said it’s not a fixed number for everyone. I said it’s typically determined by a person’s weight.

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Tiramitsunami t1_j6d2vif wrote

It's very debunked. It's just one of those rare not-backed-by-the-evidence health fads popular on the left, so it gets traded around in different circles than the usual stuff.

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Moose_in_a_Swanndri t1_j6dgru6 wrote

A poster at my gym says to drink 1ml of water for every calorie of food you eat. I don't know if it's based on any science, but it sounds pretty reasonable. Better than 3l a day no matter if you're 5 feet tall or 6 foot 5.

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