John Myers
You have a headache You may have been drinking too little. We reveal how much water you should drink a day and what you can pay attention to with your fluid balance. Plus: Do you have to drink more on hot days?
- Water is essential for human life: Those who drink enough water are more productive.
- The ideal amount of water per day varies depending on age, temperature, and physical exertion.
- Regular drinking and the right drinks are important.
Are you the type of person who is constantly thirsty and now, in the summer, drinks liters of water every day? Or rather to those around you who have to be reminded several times a day to at least drink a glass of water?
Either way – we all often ask ourselves: How many liters of water a day should it be? How much liquid is too little? And can you actually drink too much? Do the recommended drinking quantities also apply in the heat?
The ideal amount of water per day is individual
Water is vital for our body, after all it consists of about two thirds of exactly this liquid. The body regulates the temperature, the metabolism and transports nutrients through the water that we consume. You can only perform well if you drink water regularly.
A general indication of how much water you should drink a day is often given as 1.5 liters. This is also the recommendation of the German Society for Nutrition (DGE). However, this does not apply to all people equally: Breastfeeding women and young people have a higher water requirement, children and older people have to drink less water.
In detail, the DGE recommends that children and young people take in the following amounts of water from drinks:
Children from one to four years: 0.82 l/day
Children from four to ten years: 0.94 l/day
Seven to ten year olds: 0.97 l/day
Children aged 10 to 13: 1.17 l/day
Adolescents between 13 and 15: 1.33 l/day
Adolescents and young adults have the highest water requirement, after which the recommended amount to drink slowly decreases again over the course of life:
15-19 year olds: 1.53 l/day
Adults between 19 and 25 years: 1.47 l/day
25 to 51 year olds: 1.41 l/day
Adults from 51 to 65 years: 1.23 l/day
People aged 65 and over: 1.31 l/day
Pregnant women and especially breastfeeding women are a special case: while pregnant women only have a slightly higher water requirement, namely 1.47 liters per day, breastfeeding women should even drink 1.7 liters of water per day, according to the DGE.
Important for the specified values of the DGE: The quantities only refer to the amount of water in drinks. Added to this is water, which you absorb through food. The general guidelines also do not take into account that not everyone is the same height or has the same physique.
Should you drink the same amount of water every day or drink more when it’s hot?
Also important: The recommended drinking amounts apply to average days with a sufficient energy supply and without any special incidents. However, as soon as you exercise and sweat, consume a lot of table salt or a lot of protein, you should also drink more water.
The same applies to sick days when you suffer from fever, diarrhea, or vomiting. Then the body needs more water. On hot days in summer and when the air is dry, drinking more fluids is also good for your body.
Important: Even if an ice-cold lemonade or a homemade iced tea is nice and refreshing on hot days, you should not drink ice-cold drinks when it is hot. These stimulate heat production in the body, which makes us sweat even more. Better they drink water and Co. lukewarm, i.e. at about body temperature.
Tips to not only drink enough in summer
If pure water is too bland for you, you can also drink unsweetened fruit or herbal teas.
You should only drink soft drinks and fruit juices in moderation, because they are usually full of sugar and full of flavorings and colorings.
Of course, coffee and black tea also provide the body with water and can be added to the daily amount. If you want to do something good for your health, you should avoid too much sugar in hot drinks.
Instead of drinking a liter of water first thing in the morning, it is better to drink it regularly throughout the day. This prevents circulatory problems or headaches.
Have a full glass of water next to you. Once you’ve emptied it, refill it.
Anyone who simply forgets to drink can download an app onto their smartphone. This reminds you regularly to take a sip.
Important: You shouldn’t overdo it with drinking water either. Drinking too much water every day can lead to water intoxication (hyponatraemia), which causes a lack of salt in the blood. Too much water can thin the blood and alter mineral balance. The State Center for Health Promotion in Rhineland-Palatinate (LZG), for example, therefore warns against drinking five or six liters a day, as this can have life-threatening consequences.
