Luxor Nursing and Rehabilitation at Mills Pond on How You Can Actually Drink Too Much Water

You’ve probably heard the blanket statement that you should drink eight glasses of water. Reality, however, is a bit more complicated than that. It’s more based on gender and weight.

The Institute of Medicine for the Dietary Reference Intakes offers the following guidelines: 

• Adult men require approximately 15.5 cups per day (three of those cups can come from foods and other beverages besides water).
• Women are recommended to take in 11 cups per day (two of those cups can come as fluid from other foods and beverages).
• Factors that can influence your water intake include pregnancy, physical activity, weather conditions, overall health, and altitude.

However, Luxor Nursing and Rehabilitation at Mills Pond wants you to know there is a such thing as drinking too much water. 

The first thing to know is that your kidneys can only handle around one liter (33 ounces) of water per hour. That’s when negative effects can happen to the body.

Your sodium levels can begin to drop and cause a condition called hyponatremia. If the body is storing too much water, it can dilute the sodium levels in your body and cause nausea, fatigue, headaches, and confusion.

You also run the risk of having muscle cramps and weakness. This usually occurs when you drink too much water while exercising and electrolytes become diluted.

Excess fluid in the bloodstream can also cause high blood pressure and potential heart problems if you’re not in good cardiovascular condition.

You can also do damage to your bladder by drinking too much fluid. It can cause lesions in the bladder that end up giving you delayed bladder sensations. A recent study also determined there was a link between over-consumption of water and an increased risk in bladder cancer.

To learn more about Luxor Nursing and Rehab at Mills Pond and all of the services they offer, visit http://www.millspondluxor.com/.