- Water is essential for immunity, balanced blood pressure, kidney functioning, mineral transportation, digestion, skin health, and ideal body temperature.
- An adult man should drink 3.7 liters of water daily, whereas 2.7 liters would be an appropriate quantity for women.
- Thirst and color of urine would decide whether you are taking adequate water intake or not.
- You should consciously take water during fever, diarrhea, pregnancy, and hot temperatures, which you can get from fruits, soups, juices, and other liquid intakes.
Drinking water comes with a lot of benefits. But what exactly are these benefits? How much water is too much to drink? Are you drinking enough of it?
These questions may have crossed your mind. Well, there is no need to keep wondering because we have come armed with 20 solid benefits of drinking water.
We have also included the recommended water levels for different age groups and some water statistics. It should help you understand why water is vital and maybe even motivate you to increase your daily intake.
Table of Contents
20 Benefits of Drinking Water
1. Helps form saliva and mucus
Water essentially makes up our saliva and mucus. It helps keep our mouth, nose, and eyes moist, preventing unwanted friction by keeping them all lubricated. Drinking water can also keep the mouth clean and prevent bad breath. Furthermore, if you replace those sugary drinks with water, it can also reduce tooth decay.
2. Delivers oxygen throughout the body
Our blood constitutes more than 90% water. It is thus vital in transporting oxygen to different parts of the body. This is why a lack of water can cause a shortage of proper oxygen supply, causing you to have low energy.
3. Boosts skin health and overall beauty
Drinking water can make your skin cells healthier and plump. It is known to minimize premature wrinkles and help you look younger for longer. It can also flush out the toxins that dull your face and ensure a healthy glow. Adding a dash of lemon into your water can add vitamin C to your intake and further boost your skin health.
4. Lubricates joints
Our joints are made from cartilage. Cartilage is about 80% water. Therefore, long-term dehydration can reduce the shock-absorbing ability and cause joint pain. The liquid intake will boost your physical activity with increased energy.
5. Boosts productivity
The lack of water can cause you to become sluggish. A glass of water can help replenish your energy and attention.
6. Flushing out the waste
Water is essential for flushing out unwanted wastes via sweating, urine, and feces. This helps keep your kidneys healthy and your immune system strong. Read about if the water lowers cholesterol or not here.
7. Regulates body temp
When the body heats up, water expels sweat. This sweat evaporates to cool our body temperature. Some studies have suggested that the body’s water shortage causes heat build-up.
8. Helps the digestive system
Water is a must for keeping the digestive system functioning. Lack of water can cause an imbalance in your stomach ecosystem. It increases acidity, which can give way to stomach ulcers. Moreover, dehydration can lead to problems like constipation.
But on a sad note, sometimes, your stomach might hurt after drinking water. This is when you need to consider examining your health. You may want to know what might possibly cause this to happen. So we have prepared this article on why your stomach hurts after drinking water. Well, this article can be helpful so give it a read.
9. Cushions the brain, spinal cord, and other sensitive tissues
As water forms most of our body, lack of it can severely affect the brain’s functioning. Long-term dehydration can even cause problems with reasoning skills and affect the production of several hormones.
10. Maintains blood pressure
A lack of water in your blood can cause it to become thicker, which results in high blood pressure problems. Drinking plenty of water helps balance your body’s fluid levels.
11. Reduces fatigue
The primary symptom of dehydration is exhaustion. It can make you feel fully drained and unable to perform everyday activities. A tall glass of this caffeine-free drink can ensure your energy is well maintained throughout the day.
12. Helps the transport of minerals and nutrients
The minerals and nutrients dissolve in the water, making it easy to circulate them throughout the body.
13. Promotes weight loss
Water can be an excellent substitute for any sugary drinks that may be contributing to weight gain. You can also drink a glass of water before meals to help prevent overeating. Similarly, drinking cold water is better as your body will burn off some calories to heat that water.
14. Helps kidneys function smoothly
The kidneys are the center for fluid management in your body. They filter nearly 120-150 quarts of fluids every day. The lack of water can cause kidney stones, urinary tract infections, and other problems. You can help your kidneys flush out the unwanted wastes by drinking gallons of water.
15. Helps boost performance during exercise
Consuming more water contributes to a smoother overall functioning. Unsurprisingly, it can make strenuous exercise easier on your body. Muscles tend to tire out quickly when there is a lack of water. So, remember to take your water bottle to the gym!
We recommend carrying filtered water bottles as they purify water and make it clean and safe to drink. It’s not new that most athlete prefers Gatorade over water as their exercise enhancement drink. Does it actually boost your energy, or is it only good when you’re sick? How beneficial is drinking water? Read here for more detail about Gatorade.
16. Prevents hangovers
Water is excellent at keeping yourself hydrated in between alcoholic beverages. This will also prevent you from drinking too much and prevent headaches the following day.
17. Helps airways
Dehydration causes the airways in your body to become more constricted. The airways constrict to prevent or minimize water loss. However, it can aggravate conditions like asthma or allergies.
18. Prevents sickness
Drinking fluids while sick can help replace all the extra water you are losing. Significantly during colds, it can also aid in decongestion. While this hasn’t been scientifically corroborated, drinking water will help your body heal faster by flushing out all the impurities. Other than that, it can help prevent dehydration headaches as well.
So, we recommend drinking plenty of water for health benefits. You might not readily find clean and safe drinking water outside your home or during outdoor activities. Therefore, we recommend carrying portable water filters. A portable water filter removes contaminants from outdoor water sources and makes the water safe for drinking.
19. Improved Thinking
At this point, we have understood that drinking water can help you become fresh and energized. As a positive consequence, it can promote a more evident mindset, help you concentrate, and stay alert. A study conducted in 2013 reported that students that brought water into an exam room tended to have better grades.
Therefore, make sure to put a water cooler dispenser in your room during your exam hour, so you don’t have to waste your time running over the kitchen for water again and again. Curious question! Does improved thinking also means reducing depression, anxiety, and stress too? The answer to your curiosity is in the article “Can water help with depression, anxiety, and stress.”
20. Improves your immune system
Drinking lots of water can help flush out all the harmful particles from your body. It thus boosts your immune system and promotes a proper oxygen flow throughout your body.
How much water do you need to drink?
Now that we know all the great benefits drinking water provides, the next question is, how much water should you drink?
The simple answer is it varies. Depending on your physique, your lifestyle, how much you sweat, and so on. While there isn’t a hard and fast rule regarding the exact intake, there is an average recommendation from the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
- For children (under 8): Approx.1.18 liters or 40 ounces (~5 cups)
- For children (9-13): Approx. 1.6-1.9 liters or 56-64 ounces (~7-8 cups)
- For teenagers: Approx. 1.9-2.6 liters or 64-88 ounces (~8-11 cups)
- For men: Approx. 3.7 liters or 125 ounces (~15.5 cups)
- For women: Approx. 2.7 liters or 91 ounces (~11.5 cups)
- For pregnant or breastfeeding women: Approx. 2.3-3.07 liters or 80-104 ounces (~10-13 cups)
This direction is an average daily recommendation. It may seem ridiculously high, but you must remember that we also get much of our water from food. So with that in mind, the actual amount of water would be about 12.5 cups (100 ounces) for men and about 9 cups (73 ounces) for women.
When to consciously drink water?
While we stress the importance of drinking water, you are most likely consuming enough water on average. Water in foods, coffee, and other drinks, along with the occasional glass of water, should be sufficient to keep you from dehydration.
However, there are certain times when you need to make sure you are hydrated more than the others. These can be:
- When you have a fever: Hydrate to ensure the body can transfer nutrients smoothly and heal quicker.
- During summer: As you lose more water, sweating and drinking water can help regulate body temperature.
- During constipation, diarrhea, and vomiting: Can monitor body functioning and replenish water supply lost during diarrhea and vomiting.
- During pregnancy: While pregnant or breastfeeding, women will require more than the average amount of water. They will need to increase their intake to at least 10-13 cups daily.
How do I know if I am drinking enough water?
Your body has a handy way of letting you know when you aren’t drinking enough: thirst. If you spend most of the day without being thirsty, your water intake is already sufficient. You can also check the color of your urine. You are drinking enough water if it is colorless to a light yellow.
Water Statistics
We all wonder if we consume enough water or not, but have we thought about how much water is being consumed in general? A study regarding the behaviors and attitudes associated with low drinking water intake among U.S. adults, with a sample size of 3,397 adults, discovered:
- 7% of adults reported zero consumption of drinking water
- 36% reported consuming only about 1 to 3 cups of water
- 35% reported consuming between 4 to 7 cups
- 22% reported drinking 8 cups or more.
This study concluded that participants aged 55 years or older were likely to drink less than 4 cups of water daily. However, there are many ways one can get their daily fluid intake. It can be by consuming fruits or vegetables as well. Still, pure and calorie-free water is the healthiest way to keep yourself hydrated.
Sources of Drinking Water
Pure water is, of course, the healthiest choice you could make for your fluid intake. However, some people really don’t like the taste. In such cases, instead of drinking water at all, it is better to resort to one of the following:
- Fruit juice or soda: While fruit juices come with added preservatives and sugar, they can still provide quite a bit of hydration. The same goes for soda, which is 90% water.
- Fruits and vegetables: Citrus fruits can also be an excellent choice. Not only do they have high water content, but they are also rich in vitamins. Similarly, vegetables like lettuce, celery, or zucchini are 90% water. Strawberries, watermelon, cucumber, tomatoes, broccoli, spinach, eggplant, and so on also have very high water content.
- Soups or broths: If you dislike plain water, then soup can be a great replacement. Especially if you live in colder climates, then they can provide both warmth and hydration.
- Other drinks: Warm drinks such as coffee, tea, or cocoa can also be an excellent way to provide some liquid intake. However, you will need to watch your sugar intake. Similarly, soy milk is another drink that is nearly 88.5% water.
Water is an excellent no-calorie drink with a multitude of benefits to offer. The history of clean drinking water fascinates how our ancestors used different methods to consume clean and safe water. Besides having the privilege of infinite filtration techniques, we lack the habit of drinking water.
According to the statistics, the average Americans are not meeting their required water intake. To avoid this, ensure you have a glass of water handy every morning and don’t forget to take your water bottle to the gym!
(Last Updated on July 7, 2022 by Sadrish Dabadi)
