When you don’t drink enough water the woman’s body dehydrates, which literally means it starts drying out from the inside. As human bodies are over 60% water, that’s an extremely dangerous condition that can lead to death within several days. You can get water from food as well but it’s essential to drink about eight glasses of purified clear liquid daily. The exact amount of water you need to stay healthy remains undetermined because it’s affected by many factors. So what you need is to listen to your body and ensure you always have a bottle on hand.

Consequences of Not Drinking Enough Water Daily

Even without delving to extremes, such as death of dehydration, not getting your daily quota of liquids can have multiple negative health effects, including:

  • Your kidney function lowers making it harder for your body to remove toxins. Your urine will turn dark as a result. Urinary system problems can sometimes contribute to fertility issues.
  • You start craving sugary foods, says Everyday Health. This quite unusual effect of dehydration definitely contributes to the fact that not drinking enough water adds to weight gain. As this also affects your metabolism, it’s not a surprise that staying hydrated is one of the quick weight loss tips. Note that dehydration is also associated with a fast return of hunger after a meal.
  • Your mouth goes dry without water, which increases the risk of infection and inflammation. This, in turn, can lead to gum diseases, the main cause of losing teeth. This also causes bad breath.
  • You get headaches caused by the swelling or shrinkage of your brain caused by dehydration. This condition also contributes to blood pressure fluctuations and can therefore increase the risk of stroke.
  • You experience fatigue for no reason. This is a common side-effect of dehydration, which shows itself most keenly in the afternoon.

Due to the overwhelming importance of hydration for maintaining basic functions of the human body, not drinking enough water contributes to the development or increases the risk of many dangerous health conditions. While it might not be the direct cause behind them, not getting your daily quota of liquids definitely makes the situation worse.

Therefore, it’s essential to remind yourself to drink regularly. As it’s too easy to get caught up and miss your body’s subtle prompts, you should use specialized apps that will remind you to drink every few hours. You should also have a water bottle within reach at all times.

How Much Water Is Enough?

There only answer to this question is that there is no clear answer, so state multiple studies of hydration and health. Science Alert cites some relevant research and advises to simply let your body guide you to a healthy rate of water consumption.

That’s a good idea, however, for it to work, you’ll need to be very attentive in listening to your biological urges. This might not be easy for a modern person who works for many hours in a row.

An average person obtains about 20% of their necessary daily water intake from food. However, this number varies greatly depending on the products you consume. For example, fresh fruits, berries, and vegetables contain a lot of water, while breads – almost none.

If you want to be sure you drink enough water, you should start with the ‘rule of thumb’ and drink eight glasses a day. If you still get some discomfort that can be attributed to dehydration, increase the amount.

In case that doesn’t help, consider consulting a doctor.