Water You Waiting For? What You Should Know About Hydration

Iowa weather is notorious for its extreme climate conditions, with below freezing temperatures in February to scorching hot July afternoons. We at Greater Regional Health would like to remind everyone of the importance of appropriate water intake.

Why Should I Care About Hydration?

To begin, water is the main component of all your body fluids while also actively getting rid of any wastes that your bodily functions produce. Water is how our body regulates our internal temperature and transports nutrients to where they need to be. Within our body water also acts as a sort of pillow for our joints and helps protect any sensitive areas. Practically every single chemical reaction that happens in our body takes place in water. To put it simply, water is critical for our most basic functioning! This is why monitoring your hydration is so necessary for health and wellness.

How Much Water Should I Consume in a Day?

Commonly when you ask the question, “how much water should I drink?” you’d often be met with the response, eight glasses a day. Although this answer isn’t necessarily wrong, it also does not fully encompass everyone’s hydration needs. The average recommended water intake is 3.7 liters for men and 2.7 liters for women. However, this all depends on a person’s health, exercise patterns, the temperature and climate of their region, gender, diet, and any other physical conditions such as pregnancy.

So how do you know if you’re drinking enough water? There are some signs of adequate fluid intake. If you rarely feel thirsty or if the color of your urine is a light yellow, you’re making sure you’re hydrated! Urine color is an easy way to gauge your hydration levels, once your urine becomes a darker yellow you should make sure to increase your water intake for the day. However, these symptoms are not always noticeable, so we should all be vigilant of what our body is trying to tell us.

What are the Symptoms of Dehydration?

Symptoms can change based on a person's age. Mayo Clinic’s overview on dehydration gave a description list of some of the different symptoms you or your loved one may experience.

Infant/Young Children

• No wet diapers for three or more hours

• No tears even when crying

• Rapid Heart

• Sunken eyes/cheeks

• Lacks energy

Adults/Older Children

• Extreme thirst

• Urinating less/dark colored urine

• Tiredness/increased dizziness

• Confusion/headaches

A quick way to test dehydration is to give a soft pinch somewhere on the person’s body, like their arm, and if the skin doesn’t flatten back immediately after getting pinched, likely they are experiencing dehydration.

Signs of extreme dehydration include diarrhea, extreme fatigue, unable to keep down any fluids, has bloody or black stool, or is running a fever. If you experience these symptoms reach out to your doctor immediately as extreme dehydration can have adverse effects.

How can I Stay Hydrated?

If you have a busy day, it can be quite easy to forget to stop and hydrate. It can also be hard to begin the habit of drinking more water. Luckily, there are tips and tricks for staying hydrated throughout your day.

• Set goal/reminders; you can start off by creating a daily water intake goal and then send reminders to yourself throughout the day to keep up with it.

• Create a routine; if you make it a goal to drink a glass of water at every meal and one between meals you can easily increase your water intake.

• Drink one glass of water while at work; this is another easy, measurable goal you can set for yourself!

• Get a water bottle; just having a visual reminder and easy access to water will influence you to drink more.

• Take a sip between other drinks; it’s okay to indulge yourself in beverages other than water like coffee or pop, but make sure to take a sip of water between each sip of the other drink.

• Flavor your water; if you’re not a fan of the taste of water there are healthy, inexpensive water flavors you can use as well.

• Track your water intake; keeping track is another great way to hold yourself accountable.

• Eat foods high in water content; liquid water isn’t the only source of hydration. Foods like watermelon, lettuce, cucumbers, bell peppers, and pineapple are great sources of water and other nutrients.

Hydration is more than just drinking water when you feel thirsty. It’s about being able to understand the signs your body is giving you and learning how to best take care of yourself. Being hydrated isn’t just a health tip, but a daily act of self-care!

Credits:

Mayo Clinic Staff. May 2^nd, 2025. Dehydration- Symptoms and Causes. Mayo Clinic Press. Retrieved June 3^rd, 2025, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dehydration/symptoms-causes/syc-20354086 

Mayo Clinic Staff. Oct. 12^th, 2022. Water: How Much Should You Drink Every day? Mayo Clinic Press. Retrieved June 3^rd, 2025, https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256