[pc86]

The vast vast vast majority of people drink way too little water. I drink a little over a gallon a day in addition to the occasional coffee or soda and still occasionally feel the effects of dehydration. I know people who may only have 2-3 glasses of water in a day and nothing else. It's crazy they're still alive.

[blang]

If you just drink when you are thirsty, you should be fine, it has sustained us as a species for a very long time.

[fjsolwmv]

It's easy to not drink when you are thirsty, causing discomfort, weakness, and headaches.

[blang]

As in you don't know you are thirsty or you don't have access to water?

[milesvp]

We have genes that help regulate the use of water in our system. These genes can turn on and off depending on our environment and the availability of water. If you feel the urge to drink over a gallon of water, more power to you, but most of us really don't need that much water. Also, if your pee is consistently clear, you're probably drinking way more water than your system needs.

You may also need to consume more salt and glucose so your body retains more of the water you're consuming. Due to osmotic pressure, your cells can't actually absorb water without the correct salt and glucose to help act as a transport.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11193601

[TylerE]

Uh, you sure you don't have something going on?

128+ oz today is a ludicrously high consumption if you aren't working outside in the sun all day long or running a marathon or something.

[akvadrako]

Don't drink a lot when running a marathon or doing other heavy activities - that's how most people die of water poisoning.

[freedomben]

Agreed. After getting it pounded into my head in the military, I drink tons of water a day.

The only thing that sucks, is getting up to pee every 30 to 60 minutes is kind of disruptive to coding in the zone :-)

[bena]

Overhydration is a thing. Living at the extreme end of anything isn't good for us.

[freedomben]

Totally agree. I've heard the simplest "test" is to look at your pee color. It should be very light yellow. If it's clear, you're probably overdoing it.