Feeling thirsty every
now and then is normal. We’ve all been there after a good workout or on a busy
work day when hydration just slipped our minds. But if you’re regularly asking
yourself ‘why am I so thirsty’, chances are your body is trying to tell you
something important. But what exactly? In this article, we explain all of the
different reasons why you might be feeling thirsty. We’ll also tell you how
best to quench your thirst So, keep
reading to find out!
Why am I so thirsty?
Excessive thirst is oftentimes the result of dehydration. Not hydrating properly during exercise and failing to boost your water intake during hot summer days are the most common explanations for that super-thirsty feeling. But eating spicy food or going overboard with coffee can lead to the same outcome: endless thirst you can’t wait to quench.
Here are the nine most common reasons why you’re always feeling thirsty.
1. Dehydration
If you’re asking yourself ‘why am I so thirsty?’, the answer is that
you're probably dehydrated. Dehydration is when you don’t have enough fluid in
your body to properly function. Around half of our bodies are made up of water
and we need to maintain our natural water balance in order to stay healthy.
We lose
more water than any other essential nutrient in our bodies. On average, we can
lose about four and a half pints of water a day. So, if you’re thinking ‘why am I so thirsty all of a
sudden?’, thirst
is our body’s early alert that we are already dehydrated. Losing just 1% of our
body water will make you feel thirsty. This also means that your memory function,
attention-span, concentration and reaction time could decrease by about 10%. These
are just a few of the most
common
side effects of dehydration
. Check out our handy article to discover more.
You can easily tell how
dehydrated you are by checking the colour of your pee. Clear or pale-yellow pee
means your water balance is okay, but anything darker suggests dehydration. The
darker your pee, the more dehydrated you are.
Whenever you start wondering why you’re always thirsty, remember that we need to replace all
the fluid we naturally lose throughout the day and night by regularly topping
up with water. Otherwise,
we
can easily get dehydrated
.
2. Exercise
When we exercise our muscles generate heat. To try to keep our
temperature down, our bodies get rid of that heat by sweating. Sweating uses up
lots of our bodies’ water.
3. Hot
weather
The same principle applies in hot weather - even when we aren’t
exercising. Feeling
really thirsty in the summer is a sign we need to top up our water
intake. Our bodies are constantly perspiring, even when we don’t notice it. In
hot weather we’ll be passively losing more fluid than normal because our body
temperature will be higher than normal.
4. Salty
food
Eating salty food can make you dehydrated because your body has to
flush out all that excess sodium. Like water, our bodies have a natural sodium
balance so when there’s too much of it, our bodies will react to get rid of it
- usually by peeing.
5. Spicy
food
If you feel
extra thirsty after your meal, you should know that spicy ingredients
might be to blame. Eating spicy foods can raise our body temperature. Our
bodies will sweat that heat out and therefore we’ll lose more fluid than usual.
6. Diarrhoea and
vomiting
We lose lots of our bodies’ water and salt when we experience diarrhoea
and vomiting. Sometimes we lose more than we can take in, therefore we can
become dehydrated very quickly. It’s important to ensure we drink lots of pure,
healthy water when we’re ill.
7. Drinking
too much caffeine
Caffeinated drinks may dehydrate us as they could have a diuretic
effect on our bodies - meaning that they might make us pee more often. Not
everyone experiences the same effects though, so this can vary from person to
person. Find out more about the effects of these drinks on our bodies with this
fun
caffeine facts guide.
8. Alcohol consumption
Alcohol is another well-known diuretic. It has the ability to
eliminate fluids from our bodies at a much quicker rate than water. So, always
make sure you drink plenty of water whenever you’re consuming alcohol.
Otherwise, chances are you will start feeling more thirsty than usual.
9. An underlying health
condition
Excessive thirst is when your thirst is
stronger than normal and you still feel thirsty even after drinking water. This
could be a symptom of an underlying condition, such as diabetes, so it’s important
to get checked out by a doctor.
How can I stop feeling thirsty?
As our bodies are constantly losing water,
it’s important to keep topping up.
Pure
water is always best to drink
Sip water little and often throughout the day.
Make sure to check out if you should
drink
warm or cold water
with our article.
Low-fat
milk, low-sugar or sugar-free drinks are also good
Avoid any drinks that contain lots of added
sugar, such as fizzy drinks and squashes.
Limit fruit
juices and smoothies
These contain lots of free sugar so you should
stick to just a small glass a day. Here are our top
tips
to beat those sugar cravings
successfully.
Limit
caffeine intake
Beware of drinking lots of tea or coffee as they could make you pee more and
therefore, more dehydrated.
Is feeling thirsty dangerous?
Dehydration
can have a bad effect on us
. Just two hours of dehydration may lead to
cognitive decline and physical impairment. Becoming more dehydrated may make it
hard for you to focus or unable to navigate tricky tasks. Your hand-eye
coordination could also suffer and you’re likely to be feeling tired, lethargic
or lightheaded. Dehydration could also give you a headache, make you feel
irritable or even aggressive.
Drinking water may have an immediate effect on all of these symptoms. Keeping a
glass or bottle of water to hand will help you to stop feeling thirsty in the
first place and keep dehydration at bay.
We’ve looked at why you might be feeling thirsty and how you can easily prevent
dehydration.
Having a water dispenser at home is a great way
of helping to keep you and your household healthily hydrated with great-tasting
filtered water. Take a look at our
home
water system
to see how it could benefit you and your family. Then take a
deep dive into all the amazing reasons
why
increasing your water consumption
is the best decision you can make and check
out what a
bodybuilder
says on the importance of hydration!
