Is there such a thing as TOO hydrated?

Like the Spice Girls said, “Too much of something is bad enough,” so in short, yes: you can over-hydrate so let’s talk about what we can do about it!

Overhydration occurs when we take in more fluid than we release through sweat and, um… Other bodily functions, to put it delicately. In fact, it has very similar symptoms to dehydration such as headaches, drowsiness, confusion, and irritability. So where do we go from here? How do we know how much to drink?

I have good news: our bodies are WAY smarter than we’ve come to believe via media and diet culture. Our body carefully calibrates how much fluid we need in order to function. Your body has backup reserves of water in the liver that are released during exercise. When we don’t have enough water in the body, we feel thirsty. If we have enough water, we don’t feel thirsty. All you need to do is listen to your body.

Pay attention to your thirst cues. Just as we do with our hunger cues, we need to tune in to our body's thirst cues. If you’re not thirsty, you don’t have to drink anything. If you are, have a (hydrating) drink! Consider having some salt in your water to help increase electrolytes. This will help your body retain the water instead of sweating it out right away. I personally love LMNT packets because the flavors are great and I enjoy how salty they are. You can dilute them with more water if you’re not a salty girl like I am.

Remember, I’m not saying you shouldn’t drink enough water. I’m merely saying that you should tune into your body’s thirst cues, particularly during these hot summer months, because we don’t want to overhydrate.