Do you really need eight glasses of water a day?

Eight a day is just a guideline, and the need really varies from person to person. In summer and on really active days when I'm sweating a lot, I easily drink 10 or more cups a day. In the cooler winter months or on an inactive day, I may only drink 7.

I go by pee color. If you're urine is clear or light yellow, you're fine and could probably back off the water. Dark yellow and you need to hydrate a bit more.

Here's a handy-dandy chart, which I think may be too big for the page, but you can open it in a new browser/tab to see the whole thing.

It's not a rule, it's just a good general guideline that is going to keep most people hydrated...being hydrated is what is important (where your pee is pretty much clear)

8, 8 oz glasses of water really isn't much at all though...I drink at least twice that (gallon) easily. But I'm very active and I also live at substantial elevation in the desert.

Nope. But I swear it really does wonders for my skin to drink that much, but only if I don't force myself to. I don't like walking around with a sloshy belly.

No, but if you mix it with whisky you won't miss the food!

4-6 glasses per day is probably fine. 8 is really just a guideline, give or take a few glasses & it works for most people.

Something I've found that helps me drink more water without feeling like it's 'forced' is to have a LARGE bottle or glass, & to have it with me at all times throughout the day. If I have water with me all day while I'm doing work on the computer, I just get bored & drink it because it's there. I currently use a 32oz tumbler with a lid & straw. Drinking two or so of those [which equals 8 8oz glasses] everyday doesn't seem nearly as hard as drinking a bunch of smaller glasses. Plus, I'm lazy, & the fewer times I have to fill my cup & refill my Brita pitcher, the better for everyone.

Infusing water really helped me. I just put a few slices of some fruit in there and it was much more appealing. I sip it constantly as opposed to drinking a lot at once.
When I first started making the effort to drink more water I did feel like my belly was sloshing before I hit the 8 glasses, but now I easily drink 8 glasses before I leave work for the afternoon. It might just be another thing you have to get used to.

No, but if you mix it with whisky you won't miss the food!

Yeah I wish. Alcohol munchies are beastly! Maybe I tried the wrong whiskey? Or maybe I was supposed to drink enough fast enough to pass out before the munchies hit?

I'm trying to do the 8 cups of water a day and I'm starting to feel queasy... my body is retaining most of the water I'm putting in and I'm kind of forcing it down.

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Normally I drink about four to six cups of water a day. Do you really need 8 glasses a day?

NO, you don't need 8 glasses of water a day, especially if you have to force it down. Eight glasses is an arbitrary number, with no science to back it up. Four to six glasses is plenty. Drink to thirst.

A 17-year-old high school football player in our area died yesterday from an electrolyte imbalance, after falling ill during last Friday night's football game. They haven't said whether he drank too much plain water in too short a time, or didn't take in enough salt during the previous day or two, or if it was just a freak thing--but his sodium dropped too low. He was a well-conditioned athlete.

If you urine is straw colored you're fine regardless of how many glasses of water you drink. There's little to no scientific evidence that confirms that drinking eight glasses of water has any health benefits. There is SOME evidence that drinking that much water might reduce the risk of kidney stones but that's about it.

Your body has been shaped by hundreds of millions of years natural selection to include this amazing adaptation called "thirst" that tells you when you need a drink. Listen to it and you'll be fine.