To ask if you drink a lot of water do you actually notice a difference?

If i drink more water, I need the loo way more. And I hate that because my bladder control is shite

You don't pee out the entire amount you drank, though. You can re-hydrate yourself quite well on tea and coffee, for the most part.

There was a time, not so long ago, where we didn’t all walk around with 40oz tumblers of water all day long. How did we ever survive? 🙄

Makes you wee a bit more, not more than the volume you drank.

NHS recommends 1.2 litres a day. That's about 5 mugs of tea. Presumably that's modelled on an average sized man so it would be a bit less for women

But if it makes you wee more, the caffeine , then you are losing water which needs to be replaced ? It's a diuretic, tea and coffee, alcohol too.

I drink about 2 litres a day and I notice the difference if I only drink half that. I’ve been doing it for about 20 years though so my body may be used to it.
All the extra toilet runs helps me get my steps in

@AllTheChaos I just feel thirsty, sometimes a headache if it's linked to exercise (but then I wouldn't drink plain water) - I assume if this has gone on for years you've had investigations? Or are on medication that explains why you have difficulty maintaining fluid balance? If not I'd speak to GP.

You should be drinking more than a litre.
I drink 2-3 litres (should be 3 as I'm breastfeeding but I sometimes find 3 difficult). I do notice a difference. I get lightheaded if I don't drink enough, and I swear it's linked to an increase in anxiety.

I’ve always drunk a fair bit of water but I believe it’s benefits are hyped. I don’t believe there are people going around ‘dehydrated’.

This might sound like a daft question, but do you actually still get thirsty if you don’t drink enough? Or just get a dehydration headache? I used to get thirsty when I was younger, but that stopped years ago. It means I have to closely monitor my fluid intake or it either goes too low and I get headachy, or it goes too high and I need rehydration sachets to get my electrolytes normalised again. If you’re all actually still getting thirsty I’m quite jealous! I used to love the feeling of a lovely cold drink when I was thirsty, haven’t had that in about 20 years!

See also www.scientificamerican.com/article/your-body-has-a-clever-way-to-detect-how-much-water-you-should-drink-every-day/

Though I have felt compelled to make an extra cup of tea 😁

@OnTheBanks quite, and thanks for the ref.

For the record, I don't get headaches, my skin is fine, energy levels fine, pee the correct pale colour etc etc. My (seemingly minimal) intake is completely adequate for my height, weight and lifestyle ;-)

Yes much more energy and eat less

Yes, the contempoary focus on drinking water, apart from when you feel thirsty, is generally total bollocks.
journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpregu.00365.2002

You’re not drinking enough.

I notice when I don’t drink enough. I have headaches, lethargic, dry skin.

I drink a huge amount of water, litres. I'd say I pee once an hour. I don't notice any difference apart from the fact that when I don't drink enough water, I feel absolutely terrible. I do actually have very clear skin apart from a few old acne scars, but my skin is very fresh. While I have a normal amount of fine lines for a woman in her forties, it has a healthy glow.

@OhNoOhNo yeah I mean obviously we all need to drink fluids (doesn't need to be water!) regularly but the idea that we all need to be chugging litres of water a day is just not correct.

I think some of the examples above of skin improving etc may also because diet was improved at the same time...people going on a general health kick.

I drink 2 litres a day (not including tea/coffee). I have more energy and my skin is less dry and more clear. I find my gym classes SO much harder if I have not been drinking much.

I drink 4 x pint glasses a day.

This wouldn’t work for me, I never get thirsty, even in summer. And I do feel the effects of dehydration so I do have to consciously drink water.

Yes definitely. I cut out unhealthy food and drank lots of water for 6 months and everything looked better, hair, skin, looks, belly fat.

Then I had some bad news, took comfort in a pizza and it all went downhill and now my hair and skin are dry.

But new year’s resolution to get back into it is going well and Ive had 2 litres of water today.

My mum was told not to drink so much water because it was affecting her mineral levels.
I try to drink 4-6 glasses a day of warmish water. Cold just goes straight through you.

Nah.

Obviously being persistently thirsty can be a sign of underlying health issues, but just forgetting to drink and getting thirsty is not unhealthy. It's just your body asking for some water. Drinking too much when you don't need to can be as problematic as being dehydrated.

@heyduggee12345 OP sounds like you're doing fine - you'll be getting fluids from other sources too.

You can have too much plain water - I see it in my sport when people end up with low sodium (hyponatremia). Actually v dangerous.