How to know you are taking too much water

How to know you are taking too much water (Photo: iStock)

Humans can survive longer without food, but when it comes to water, it is a different story. Water is an extremely important part of our needs, as it is required to keep cells alive and for other essential functions.

Often the emphasis is on drinking enough water to avoid dehydration. It's recommended that adults drink around eight glasses of water, although this depends on factors such as your gender, age and daily physical activity.

On the other hand, there is the risk of over-hydration. You might think it's impossible to drink too much water, but in fact, it can lead to water poisoning and intoxication.

You can tell if you have exceeded your body's water limit for the day by looking out for the signs. The five below are your body's way of trying to warn you:

• Too many bathroom trips

The number of times you go to pee is a direct way of knowing how much is too much. There isn't always a standard number of times we should all go daily but when it crosses over to more than ten times, there might be a problem.

If you're noticing that your bathroom trips are disrupting your day or that they're causing you to wake up during the night quite a bit, you're probably drinking too much water.

• Clear pee

The normal colour of pee for a healthy person should be pale yellow. If it's dark yellow, it shows you're not drinking enough fluids and if it's clear, it's due to overhydration.

You should be observing the colour of your pee to know when your body has had enough water. When it's clear, you need to pause first.

• Swollen feet and hands

Any type of unexplained swelling is often a cause for concern. This is one of the symptoms of overhydration and it's mainly as a result of excess water in your cells.

Usually, when you have a balanced level of water and sodium, your cells are able to remain stable. But with excess water, the cells won't have enough electrolytes which will cause them to retain more fluid.

That excess water is what will cause swollen hands, feet and lips as well. They might also start getting discolored so you have to urgently reduce the water you're drinking.

• Headaches

Drinking too much water can also have negative effects on your brain, triggering symptoms like headaches. This also happens because of low sodium levels in your body which causes your brain cells to retain more water.

Other than headaches, you might also experience other symptoms like dizziness. These are some of the signs of water intoxication.

• Unexplained fatigue

Fatigue can be caused by many different reasons. In this case, it is another sign that you're consuming way too much water than is needed.

This happens because your kidneys are overworking while trying to flush out the excess water. You need to check whether you're still feeling an unexplained kind of exhaustion and whether it's connected to the amount of water you're drinking.