8 Warning Signals That You Do not Drink Enough Water

Water is healthy and essential for life, yet most people drink too little of it. If you are dehydrated, your body sends signals – you should listen to the following.

Why does your body need water?

The body itself consists of about two-thirds water, as this is the most important transport and solvent. It supplies the cells with nutrients and removes harmful substances. Since your body excretes water through excretion, sweat and breathing, the loss must be compensated for daily.

As a rule of thumb, your body needs at least 30 millilitres per kilogram of body weight per day. For a weight of 70 kilos, this means at least 2.1 litres a day, for 80 kilos it should be more than 2.4 litres. When doing sports, the body naturally needs more water, about 40 to 45 millilitres per kilogram of body weight.

Not drinking enough? This test shows it immediately

1. Dry mouth

A dry mouth is a fairly obvious warning signal for lack of water that your body sends you. Here it is important to immediately reach for a water bottle to keep the mucous membranes of the mouth moist, which are responsible for the production of saliva. But be careful: Dry mouth can also be accompanied by medication and diseases.

2. Watery eyes

Low fluid intake can also lead to dry and watery eyes. The body saves water, which affects your tear ducts. Other triggers for dry eyes are: air conditioning, dusty air, cigarette smoke, overexertion, metabolic diseases, operations or mental stress.

3. Joint pain and headaches

Another important warning signal for dehydration is pain in the head and joints. This is because your brain responds to the lack of water by activating the neurotransmitter histamine. The histamine then instructs certain water regulation mechanisms to redistribute the amount of water in circulation. The regulators move in nerve tracts – and this can cause pain.

4. Dry skin

The skin is your largest organ, which should always be well hydrated. At least if you want smooth, soft skin. If you drink too little water, you sweat less and become dehydrated – which in turn means that our pores are not cleaned. In other words, impure skin can also be a sign of a lack of water.

5. Tiredness

You are constantly exhausted and hardly able to perform? The reason could also be a lack of fluids in this case. Fatigue is often not taken seriously, most people fight it with coffee. But in case of dehydration, this is exactly the wrong remedy, because caffeine also dehydrates. It is therefore better to take a glass of water, which can provide you with undreamt-of energy.

6. Digestive problems

If you drink too little, you can get constipated. When the body needs fluid, it drains it from the colon. As a result, the intestinal contents are thickened and constipation can occur. There is also a risk of heartburn, as the stomach acid in the stomach increases without sufficient hydrogenation.

7. Lack of muscle mass

Your body is mostly water, and your muscles are no exception. So the less water you have in your body, the less muscle mass you have. Especially people who do a lot of sports should make sure they drink enough. In this way, injuries and sore muscles can also be avoided.

8. Food cravings

Anxiety attacks are not always a sign of a drunken night or lack of sleep, they are also an unmistakable sign of a fluid deficit. Hunger is often just a misunderstood thirst. If you drink water throughout the day, you avoid the appetite in between.