Editorial

6 signs that you are drinking too much water

You are definitely not new to the drink water bandwagon because it’s a gospel that has been preached for years, and with good reason. Drinking water is great for the

6 signs that you are drinking too much water
  • PublishedApril 8, 2021

You are definitely not new to the drink water bandwagon because it’s a gospel that has been preached for years, and with good reason.

Drinking water is great for the functioning of your body’s cells and has many other benefits to your skin, hair and general well-being.

However, people concentrate too much on dehydration and forget that over-hydration is also a huge risk. Drinking too much water can result in water intoxication and other health problems.

Water intoxication is the disruption of normal brain function due to drinking too much water. This dilutes the sodium in the blood causing fluids to move within the wells and leading them to swell. When this happens to brain cells, it can be life-threatening.

Below are signs that you are taking too much water;

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You urinate frequently

This is a normal sign when you drink water but if you find that it is happening more than usual, there could be a problem. Ideally, urinating more than 10 times in a day could mean that you are are overdoing your fluid intake.

Additionally, if you find yourself in a pattern of waking up every night to help yourself, then you might be drinking a lot of water.  To avoid nighttime urination, have your last glass of water hours before bedtime to give your kidneys ample time to filter water through your body.

You feel fatigued

The kidneys, which are responsible for filtering the water and making sure the level of fluids in your body stay balanced, have limitations of how much water they can excrete at a time. Anything that exceeds that amount essentially waterlogs the body making you feel faigued.

You have throbbing headaches during the day

When you drink too much water, the salt concentration in your blood reduces, causing the cells in the organs throughout your body to swell. Therefore, your brain grows in size and presses against the skull. The added pressure thereafter cause a throbbing headache or more health problems.

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You drink water even when you are not thirsty

Thirst is everybody’s monitor and it lets you know if you need more water. The more water you need, the thirstier you get and the best way to know if your body really needs water is to cautiously be aware whether or not you actually feel dehydrated.  

Man drinking water [source: google]

You constantly feel nauseous

When you drink too much water, your kidneys become unable to get rid of the excess liquids and water starts to collect in the body. This causes a number of unpleasant symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. This could be the body’s way of trying to get rid of excess water in the system.

You continuously drink water until your urine is clear

Although most people believe clear urine is the healthiest, having urine with no pigmentation at all may be a sign that you are drinking too much water. The normal amount of 8-10 glasses a day varies on an individual’s height, weight and exercise patterns.

In severe cases, one may also experience drowsiness, double vision, muscle weakness or cramping and difficulty breathing.

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How much water should you be drinking?

While there are no official guidelines on how much water to drink, many are of the school of thought that 6-8 glasses of water are ideal.

Your water intake is also determined by your daily activities and/or conditions such as pregnancy, super active lifestyles and age.

However, water intoxication and water intoxication can happen when you intake much more water than your kidneys can remove via urine. Time also plays an important role in this and determines your risk of water intoxication.

Some sources therefore recommend that one should not drink more than 0.8 – 1.0 litres per hour to avoid intoxication.

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