What Happens When You Drink Too Much Water

I bet you've heard people tell you to hydrate all of your life — I know I have. Drinking water is a very important aspect of keeping your body functioning properly, but have you ever thought about what happens when you drink too much water? Turns out there is such a thing — it's called hyponatremia, and athletes are very prone to its effects. So maybe reconsider that age old piece of advice telling you to drink as much water as you can?

Basically, your body is made mostly out of water. If you are not drinking enough water, you can tell by the color of your urine — the darker the urine the more dehydrated you are. In order to cope with the lack of H20 supply, your body developed triggers to allow your blood to intake the maximum amount of water possible as it circulates your body. You brain will even shrink up as a response! Isn't the human body amazing??

Now, if you drink too much water, the opposite effect takes place. Your body will try its hardest to not absorb all the extra liquid in order to help your kidneys out, since they are the ones doing the brunt of the work. If you kidneys get over-stressed you can experience severe headaches, an urge to vomit, or in some really bad cases — seizures and death.

Take a look at some of the highlight from this education video about water consumption:

We Are Made Out Of Water

As babies we are actually made up of 75 percent water. By age one we drop that number to 65 percent. Maybe that's what they mean when they say that kids lose their baby weight? If not, it's just a cool fact you can pull out at parties!

We Need Water For A Lot Of Things

Turns out we need water for our joints, temperature control, and for our brains to function properly. Athletes are constantly losing water through workouts and game play. It's never a good idea to chug water after working out because you can overload your system. That's why you can see athletes like boxers swish water around their mouths but not drink it.

How Much Water Do You Actually Need?

The amount of water you need is dependent on your age, sex, and levels of physical activity. Men on average need to drink more water than women, but that depends on a myriad of factors. Just make sure to talk to your nutritional specialist to find out what is best for you. And don't forgte to hydrate — just not too much!

Watch the full educational video below!

Images: YouTube; Pexels