Signs you are not drinking enough water to sustain you

If you experience any of the following signs, you need to drink another glass of water.

1. Dry mouth
Drinking water lubricates the mucus membranes in your mouth and throat, which will continue to keep your mouth moist with saliva long after that first sip. Sugary drinks are only a temporary solution to a larger problem.

2. Dry skin
Your skin is your body’s largest organ, so it needs to stay hydrated. In fact, dry skin is one of the earliest signs of full-on dehydration, which can lead to bigger problems. A lack of water means a lack of sweat, which leads to a body’s inability to wash away excess dirt and oil accumulated throughout the day. To avoid skin breakouts, drink more water.

3. You are overly thirsty
Anyone who has ever had a hangover can tell you that, upon waking up, your body just cannot get enough water. Alcohol dehydrates the entire body, and drinking water sends “Yes” signals to the brain until your fluid levels get back to baseline. Listen to what your body is telling you.

4. Your eyes are dry
A lack of water intake leads to dry, bloodshot eyes. Without water in the body, your tear ducts dry up.

5. Joint pain
Our cartilage and spinal discs are made up of about 80 per cent water. This is an absolute necessity to keep our bones from grinding against each other with every step we take. By keeping your body hydrated, you ensure that your joints can absorb the shock of sudden movements, such as running, jumping, or falling awkwardly.

6. Your muscle mass decreases
Your muscles are comprised mostly of water. Obviously, less water in the body means less muscle mass. Drinking water before, during, and after a workout not only keeps you hydrated and comfortable, it also brings water to the right places in your body, and decreases the chance of developing inflammation and soreness related to exercise and weightlifting.

7. You stay sick longer
Drinking water allows your body to continuously flush out toxins. Your organs work to filter out certain waste products like a machine, but if you don’t fuel the machine with water, it cannot work properly. In a dehydrated body, organs start to pull water from stored areas such as your blood, which leads to a whole new set of problems.

8. You feel fatigued and lethargic
When a body is dehydrated, it “borrows” water from your blood. A lack of properly hydrated blood leads to a lack of oxygen being brought throughout the body. Of course, a lack of oxygen leads to sleepiness and outright fatigue. A lack of stamina means you will start to experience that 2pm crash earlier and in the day.

9. You experience hunger pangs
When you are dehydrated, your body might start to think it needs some food. This happens throughout the day, and overnight when you wake up craving that midnight snack.

However, eating food creates more work for your body, whereas drinking water purifies your organs and supplies the body with the fuel it needs to go through the other processes.

10. Digestive problems
Without proper hydration, the amount and strength of mucus in the stomach lessens, allowing stomach acid to do major damage to your insides. This leads to what we commonly refer to as heartburn and indigestion.

11. Constipation
Staying hydrated helps lubricate the digestive system. During the process of dehydration, the colon uses up the water that would have been used by the intestines in the next step of the digestive process.

12. Reduced urination
If you are not taking a trip to the restroom four to seven times a day, you are probably not drinking enough water. And when you do go the first time, it should be a light yellow or clear colour.

If it is a darker yellow, your body is telling you it is lacking proper hydration. In extreme cases, dehydration can lead to urinary tract infections, in which case you should consult a doctor right away.

13. Premature ageing
The amount of water our bodies retain naturally decreases as we age. As we get older, we should consciously increase our water intake. While premature ageing is more evident on the outside, the damage it does to our insides will be felt over time. To decrease the risk of running your body raw, it’s important to continue to drink water throughout your lifetime.

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