What Happens if You Don't Drink Water?

You probably know that the human body is 60% water (and more in infants, which is at 78%).

According to the Mayo Clinic, water plays a crucial role in keeping you in good health. Its functions include facilitating digestion, keeping your joints lubricated, cushioning vulnerable body parts like the brain, and flushing out wastes in your body.

With these essential responsibilities, you can only imagine what happens if you don't drink water — from slightly annoying headaches to life-threatening complications such as seizures.

But here's a surprising fact: You are losing water every second as you breathe, move, and go through your day. Plus, you’re losing electrolytes when you sweat and expel fluids.

Hydration needs can also vary from one person to another, depending on age, body weight, occupation, environmental conditions, and activity levels. For these reasons, you have to remember to hydrate regularly.

Keep reading to discover what happens if you don't drink water, how to tell if you're dehydrated, and why increasing water intake alone isn't enough for dehydration relief.

What Happens If You Don't Drink Water - And Why Hydration Is Important

Before knowing what happens if you don't drink water, you must understand why hydration is critical and how dehydration happens.

When you read or hear that your body water is around 60%, it's not just water per se, it also includes fluids and electrolytes.

Electrolytes are charged minerals that dissolve in water, resulting in fluid-containing ions. Sodium, potassium, magnesium, and chloride are examples of electrolytes.

If you want to skip to the less science-y part, all you need to know is that electrolytes help maintain fluid balance and pH levels in your body. Plus, they transmit signals that help regulate metabolism, nerve function, and muscle activity. These minerals, like zinc, also play a role in addressing infection.

Your body knows how much water, fluids, and electrolytes you consume (and lose) daily. For example, thirst is a sign that your body needs more fluids, except when you can get thirsty all of a sudden due to health conditions like diabetes mellitus.

However, when you can't get enough water and you lose more fluids than you can consume, you can end up dehydrated. When you're dehydrated, you don't just lose water. You're experiencing fluid loss and losing precious electrolytes, resulting in a host of dehydration symptoms.

Dehydration is when your body loses fluids and electrolytes faster than your body can replace them.

Water is more essential than food, so you will start to feel the effects of dehydration sooner than you expect. When you're dehydrated, drinking water is not enough. Your body needs the perfect balance of sodium and glucose to help absorption. With this precisely balanced ratio, you can replenish vital electrolytes and fluids to relieve dehydration quickly.

How to Tell if You're Dehydrated

If you have inadequate fluid intake, the lack of water and electrolytes in your body can lead to dehydration. Some of the common signs of dehydration include:

Headaches
Thirst
Dark Urine
Urinating less than usual
Constipation
Muscle cramps
Significant changes in blood pressure
Fainting or lightheadedness
Irritability or confusion
Low energy levels and fatigue
Dry skin or eyes

Severe dehydration symptoms that require prompt medical advice and attention include sunken eyes, shock, increased heart rate, and seizures.

It's also worth noting that your hydration needs can change from day to day, depending on the following factors such as age, sex, weight and activity level.

In addition to drinking less water and not getting enough fluids in the body, you can lose electrolytes and experience dehydration through the following:

Frequent vomiting and diarrhea
Sweating heavily
Heat-related illnesses (like heat exhaustion)
Engaging in physical activities

For these reasons, you should build hydration habits into your daily schedule. This includes watching for signs of mild dehydration so you can stop it in its tracks an getting the right amount of water for your specific needs. Building a habit of carrying a water bottle with you and several packets of DripDrop everywhere you go can help improve your health by staying hydrated.

As for the right amount of water and fluids, the Mayo Clinic recommends 3.7 liters of fluids/day for adult men and 2.7 liters of fluids/day for adult women.

How DripDrop Helps Crush Dehydration

Want to manage dehydration symptoms, but not a fan of drinking water because it tastes bland? Make your water taste better by transforming it into an icy, refreshing drink or a warm, soothing beverage.

Apart from its great-tasting flavors, DripDrop is a top choice to crush mild to moderate dehydration due to the following:

Precise Sodium-Glucose Ratio

The patented DripDrop formula contains the medically relevant sodium electrolyte levels and lower glucose content required for dehydration relief. The correct sodium-glucose ratio activates the cotransport system in the small intestine. This system draws molecules of glucose and sodium, as well as attracting water, into your bloodstream. Furthermore, sodium helps the body with better water retention, encouraging you to drink more.

Additionally, for those looking for dehydration relief without the sugar or cannot have sugar due to dietary restritctions, DripDrop offers DripDrop Zero, a zero sugar option that is still faster and more effective than water alone.

Low Osmolarity Formula

Dehydration relief is not as simple as combining sodium and glucose in the right way; you also need low osmolarity to increase fluid absorption. Osmolarity is the measure of the number of particles suspended in a solution. The higher the osmolarity, the slower the absorption of water from your small intestines to your bloodstream for dehydration relief.

DripDrop has a low-osmolarity formula that facilitates fast absorption. DripDrop's patented formula is just 220 mosm/L. This is even lower than the WHO ORS formula (245 msom/L) and a lot lower than traditional sports drinks (300+ msom/L).

Hydrate Often With 25% off on DripDrop

Most of the time, we don't drink enough water because either we forget about it or we don't like its taste. It's worth remembering that you need more than just water to maintain fluid and electrolyte balance in the body. You also need essential electrolytes like sodium, potassium, zinc, and magnesium.

For this reason, DripDrop is a great choice. Building a habit of carrying a water bottle with you and several packets of DripDrop everywhere you go can help improve your health by staying hydrated.

Not only does it taste great, but it's also more effective at tackling dehydration than plain water and alternatives like sports drinks. Plus, the patented formula exceeds the rigorous World Health Organization's Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) standards.

If you're experiencing mild to moderate dehydration, DripDrop is a fast, effective, and great-tasting remedy. The convenient packaging allows you to have DripDrop when you need it, where you need it.

Get started with our most popular multi-flavor pouch for dehydration relief fast. Or, learn more about how you can save up to 25% on every purchase when you subscribe.