How Much Water Should You Drink Per Day?
Water is an indispensable component for human beings. More than 70 percent of the human body is made of water. It’s important to maintain optimum levels of hydration since water plays an important role in all of our vital systems.
The recommended amount of water to drink varies according to age and gender. For example, boys between the age of nine and thirteen years should drink approximately 2.1 liters of water per day. Girls of the same age, however, should drink approximately 1.9 liters of water per day.
When it comes to adults, the recommended amount of water also varies according to gender. While women should drink approximately 2 liters of water per day, men should drink approximately 2.5 liters.
There are also specific situations such as pregnancy and nursing in which experts recommend drinking 0.3 and 0.7 liters more water respectively. Below you will find some information that will help you calculate the amount of water you should drink per day depending on your specific characteristics.
How much water should you drink according to your weight?
A lot of people don’t know that the amount of water required varies according to weight. As you may imagine, a smaller person does not have the same water requirements as a person who weighs more.
Although it seems difficult to calculate water requirements according to weight, there is a simple formula that can help make it easier. The formula consists of dividing weight (in pounds) by two. The result is the amount of water your body needs per day in ounces.
Here is an example to make it a little easier to understand:
A person who weighs 116 pounds should divide their weight by 2 which results in 58 ounces. This amount corresponds to approximately 5 glasses of water per day.
Here is the formula, don’t forget it: (body weight in pounds)/(2) = daily requirement of water in ounces.
Special cases
- When practicing sports or intense physical exercise, experts recommended drinking an additional liter of water for every hour of exercise performed.
- As we all know, fruits and vegetables contain a lot of water. Therefore, if you don’t have a diet that is rich in these elements, you should drink at least two liters of water per day. Fruits and vegetables, like many other foods, contain a lot of water which should be subtracted from the recommended daily requirements.
- If you are suffering from a disease or if you have low defenses, water is even more essential. Therefore, it is recommended you drink more water than usual.
How much water you should drink per day: tips
There are people who forget to drink the recommended amount of water per day. There are others who simply find it difficult to comply for various reasons. In order to meet your daily requirements keep the following tips in mind:
- A good tip is to consume a glass of water before each meal. This will make it easier to remember and develop good habits. Drinking a glass of water before eating can also improve your metabolism.
- Another good idea is to drink a glass of water when you wake up and another before going to sleep. Keep in mind, however, that you will have to drink more water during the day in order to comply with the formula mentioned above.
- There are people who don’t enjoy drinking water since it has no flavor. In order to solve this issue, prepare flavored water. This can be done easily by adding fruits, tea or herbs. Do not add sugar to your water.
- If you forget how much water you should drink per day, create a daily plan that will indicate when you should drink water.