How much water should you drink every day during a heat wave?

You may have heard different rules of thumb for how much water you should drink on an average day, such as eight eight-ounce glasses. But in the midst of a heatwave, are such rules of thumb still valid or are they just thumbs-up instead?

Well, your hydration needs may be different if you roast under the hot sun like a chicken on a rotisserie, sweat like a jet of water, or spend your days in dry, air-conditioned spaces. Moreover, people are surprised, very diverse. A simple one-size-fits-all number will not apply to every person and every situation. Instead of drinking a specific amount of water every day, it is important to monitor and track a certain body function. And, spoiler alert: this bodily function can help determine whether “urine” is in good or bad shape when it comes to hydration.

First, let’s look at the four most common simple rules of thumb for hydration:

• The rule of six to eight glasses of water per day. This one is the easiest to remember, especially if you think eight by eight. So that aspect is useful. But as stated earlier, a simple one-size-fits-all rule does not take into account differences in people and circumstances.
• The approximately 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluid per day for men and 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) per day for women are the rule. Okay, this line divides people into men and women, because you know men are from Mars and women are from Venus, right? Well not really. Not all women and not all men are the same. Although men have on average a larger body size than women, there is enormous diversity within each gender. For example, will a 6-foot male jockey always need more fluids than a 6-foot female WNBA player?
• Multiply your body weight in pounds by 0.5 to get the number of ounces of water you should drink. So, for example, a 150-pound person should drink at least 75 ounces of water per day. This takes body weight into account. But shouldn’t a person’s physical activity matter? Why else would you bother putting the cups of water along the route of a marathon race?
• Add 12 ounces of water for every 30 minutes of exercise every day. This one is from the American College of Sports Medicine and takes physical activity into account to some extent. But not all physical activity is the same. Chasing squirrels in the backyard during a snowstorm isn’t the same as playing golf in the spring or rolling cheese in the middle of a heat wave in the summer.

All of these can give you an overall baseball number, especially if you’re torn between drinking one thimble or 20 gallons of water a day. But instead of strictly adhering to the numbers above, the key is to pay close attention to your body and what it’s telling you.

Now it may seem like thirst has the biggest megaphone in your body in this situation. Especially when you’re thirsty, it’s a good idea to drink water, as long as you make sure you get enough electrolytes so you don’t experience something like hyponatremia. However, thirst can often be unreliable. The lack of thirst doesn’t necessarily mean your body doesn’t need more hydration. Relying solely on thirst to tell you to drink more water can be like relying solely on your fellow partiers to keep you from drinking too much alcohol.

Also, don’t wait until you experience signs of dehydration, such as headaches, lightheadedness, lightheadedness, and changes in your skin’s turgor. Dehydration can lead to serious complications, such as heat cramps, exhaustion and stroke, urinary tract infections, kidney stones, kidney failure, seizures, drops in blood pressure and shock. So waiting too long can be a highway to the danger zone, to quote that Kenny Loggins song.

No, the most important thing to pay attention to is, well, number one: your urine and how often you pee. If your kidneys are functioning properly, they will retain water when you are dehydrated and release more water into the urine when you are well hydrated. This is reflected in the color of your urine. The lighter your urine is, the more water your urine contains compared to the waste products your kidneys excrete.

Conversely, the darker your urine is, the more your kidneys prevent water from flowing into your urine. Ideally, your urine should remain very pale yellow or even clearer. Darker colors mean it’s time to start drinking, that is, drinking water.

You also need to urinate about once every two to four hours. If you have to pull out a calendar to determine when you were last number one, you’re not hydrating enough. Of course, the amount of urine matters and peeing just a small stream doesn’t count. In other words, watch your pees and Qs, where Q stands for quantity.

If you continue to pay attention to your urine every day, you will quickly get an idea of ​​how much water you should drink daily. This is likely to increase with increased exertion, when the air is dry, or when it is warmer outside. Once you have an idea of ​​what your normal intake should be, you can always add more as circumstances warrant.

And be proactive and preventive in these circumstances. For example, drink a large glass of water every time you are about to go outside in warm weather. The same applies when you exercise. If you go to the toilet every half hour, you can always titrate your fluid intake downwards.

This is another situation where you should listen to your body, which can be difficult when you have all kinds of distractions around you. So if you’re number one, paying attention to your urine should be your main focus.