To think that drinking in small sips is not necessarily better

[HolidayAtNight]

Bit of a weird one, but I think about this often as I tend to find myself drinking whole glasses of water a few times a day instead of sipping at my desk.

The advice always seems to be to sip water throughout the day to not "overload" the kidneys, but if you think about it, when we were hunter-gatherers we would likely have drunk water where we could get it, or would have stopped every so often and drunk, which would have also been the case when we were on our feet more either in or out of the home. Sipping all day every day is only easy if you're sitting at a desk, which is a pretty recent development.

Similarly with animals - I've had pet cats and dogs, and they drink a lot in one go, a few times a day. Wild animals seem to do likewise, and visit the "watering hole" or other water source specifically to drink. This doesn't seem to overload their systems.

AIBU to think it's fine to down a glass of water a few times a day rather than trying to spread it out, and that our kidneys will manage?

Who says this? I’ve never seen this from a reputable medical source.

Your kidneys will manage fine.

Where have you heard this advice? Sounds like some bonkers shit that someone is spouting on TikTok that has no baring in scientific evidence. 🙄You probably shouldn't down litres of the stuff in a go, but nothing wrong with having a glass of water at a time. In fact, I was advised I should be drinking a glass at a go and NOT constantly sipping water by a physio when I had some bladder issues.

She said that sips of water throughout the day can be more likely to trigger bladder urgency, but drinking a glass of water at a time with no water in between was better for building bladder strength and reducing risk of incontinence.

Unless there is something wrong with your bladder or kidneys, either is going to be perfectly fine though.

If you google "sip or gulp water" there are loads of examples of people saying it's better to sip in small amounts. I'm not saying it's good advice, but have read so many times in magazines, articles, etc., that it's better to sip.

I'm sort of with you on this one.
I think we should drink when we are thirsty - again like animals do. Listening to our bodies. But you won't find many people agreeing with that.

When I went to school in the '70s we only had a glass at dinner time & used the school water fountain in summer (and probably only the long hot one of' 76 😂)
We had a brew or some pop when we got home.

I only ever drink water when I am thirsty

Also, the current massive popularity of water bottles indicates a preference for constant access to water.

I've never heard of the sipping thing.

All this angst and all you have to do google nhs ....

You have literally never worked yourself up into such a lather over a non issue

Learn to distinguish reputable facts from "magazine / online articles"

I suspect it has as much to do with clever marketing about the benefits of constant access to water driving the preference because bottled water and water bottles have a saleable value in a way that waiting until you get home to have a glass of tap water doesn’t.

I’ve never met or heard of anyone whose kidney dysfunction was because they drank glasses of water at a time rather than in sips.

Not anything I’ve ever really thought about. I just have a drink when I’m thirsty.

I promise I'm not in a lather. Just curious about it as I've seen this trend towards constant sipping develop over my lifetime and noticed the increase in water bottles for children and adults. Sometimes it's interesting to think about things and discuss them.

I have a cup on my desk at work which I try to have a drink of each time I feel like having a snack (too often)!
If I'm actually thirsty I'll drink the whole cup.

That's just fad and fashion....how did people used to manage.

That said, access to liquid can only be a good thing.

The constant water sipping culture is ANNOYING. Ppl constantly carrying about water bottles, fretting about filling them...

And those Stanley cups? What fresh hell?

Just drink your water and get on with life

As hunter gatherers our role was to stay alive long enough to raise the next generation before being eaten by a sabre tooth tiger. Living long enough to wear out your kidneys was pretty rare so I'm not sure the prehistoric approach is helpful here.

Having said that, I have never ever heard this advice.

I have never heard this. It's rubbish. Water absorption is limited both mechanically (by the rate of emptying of the stomach into the small intestine) and physiologically (by the water uptake of the small intestine). Whether you take sips or gulps is completely irrelevant.

There’s a few TikTok fads around this. Sipping water, adding a pinch of salt (as if most of us don’t have diets that are too high in salt anyway 🤣) all sorts. It’s basically influencers wanting to have something (anything) to talk about.

And drinking water is a good one because for followers it is relatively low effort - I much prefer being told I can get toned and lose cellulite by sipping water than by going to the gym!!!!

Isn't that when you're ill? So if you're going to throw up, you're not chucking up an entire glass of water?

My MIL is very controlling and obbsessive and one of many stories I have of her related to this post.

I was visiting my then BF and was given a glass of squash, which I drunk down in one.

She went berserk saying I shouldn't do it because it is REALLY bad.

She also went on to say drinking water is bad for you and you should drink teas, juices and squashes.

On a totally unrelated note... MIL has a mouth full of fillings, crowns and replacements due to the sugar she consumes. I've never had a filling in my life and I'm 46.

She seems to think I might die if I don't sip drinks. I've never done that, I always just down them.

I've only heard you shouldn't glug alcohol. Horses shouldn't be allowed to drink loads after exercise for some reason or other.
You can drink too much water, but that would be litres and litres and litres.

Maybe you're still a Neanderthal Hunter gatherer but the rest of us have evolved and don't have a pressing need to gulp down a beverage in order to avoid a spear up the arse from a fellow Hunter gatherer or being chased by Woolly Mammoth.

Provided that you drink enough, it does not matter whether you drink it by the glassful or sip from a bottle throughout the day, but the latter offers far more opportunities for being an annoying little tit.

they are probably saying sip so they can flog the latest cup or whatever a few glasses of water a day isn't going to flood your kidneys.

12,000 long years have passed since we were hunter-gatherers. Things may have changed.