I’ve written about how we need to keep our bodies hydrated, and how drinking lots of water leads to lots of weeing, and both posts mentioned the recurring phrase of “drink more water!” Today is one last post on hydration based on some feedback from the first two posts: there is such a thing as drinking TOO MUCH water.
[Disclaimer – I’m not a doctor – I’m just summarizing what I research on the internet, so PLEASE be sure to speak to your health care providers to get the correct information, specific to your personal situation, before making any alterations to your healing routine.]
Over-hydration is called “water intoxication” or Hyponatremia.
If you drink too much water too quickly, your kidney can’t process the fluid, so the sodium levels in your bloodstream drop, which in turn causes your cells to become super-saturated. If the weather is humid and you’re drinking a lot of extra water, it can combine with the process of sweating (where you also lose your body-salts) to make the issue worse. If you’re a woman, then your chances of overhydration increase again, because hormones also interfere with your sodium levels.
Signs that you might have drunk too much water are that you may feel dizzy, fatigued, nauseous, bloated and irritable. You may also get a headache, because the brain swells and pushes against the skull (eek).
[Not going to lie – these symptoms sound like me every day of the week!!!]
At its absolute worst, overhydration can lead to seizures, coma and in very rare cases – death.
If you do think that you might have overhydrated yourself (your wee will be crystal clear) – stop drinking and eat something salty to try to recalibrate your body.
[For me, I have days where I suspect I have overdone it with too much water, so I switch to a sports drink for a while that has electrolytes in it – it seems to work for me, but I have also read that coconut water is another good substitute.]
If you want to know more, here’s some links to the websites I read:
The Scary Thing That Can Happen When You Drink Too Much Water | SELF
Are You Drinking Too Much Water? (thehealthy.com)
Water: How much should you drink every day? – Mayo Clinic
Take care friends, and drink a moderate amount of water, Linda x
[PS – today’s image comes from one of my AI experiments – if you want to see more, I post the other experiments on Instagram.]
The Mindful Migraine 
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