Have you ever wondered: why do I pee so much when I drink water? As Sir Isaac Newton discovered, “What goes up must come down.” The logic of his Third Law of Motion also applies when it comes to staying hydrated. If you drink more, you pee more.
Your body is made up of more than 60% water, so if you drink the right amount of water for your size, you'll be drinking a lot of water. For example, a 130-pound woman needs about 64 ounces of water every day to stay hydrated.
Why do I pee so much when I drink what I need?
That's why we asked our expert: why do people pee so much when they drink the water their body needs? Dr. Joshua Thurman says, “The body is usually very good at maintaining a good water balance. The amount of water you excrete in your urine generally matches what you take in. This means that if you don't get a lot of water , the kidneys concentrate the urine and minimize the amount of water lost in the urine. If you drink a lot of water, the kidneys will dilute the urine so that the body can remove the water it doesn't need.
There are times when drinking more water does not produce more urine. “For example, if you lose a lot of water through sweating, the kidneys will retain a little extra water to compensate for the losses. Or if there is kidney failure, the body may not be able to properly maintain overall water balance,” explains Dr. Thurman.
Now we all know that an urgent need to go can be miserable, stressful and even cause an embarrassing accident. So if you're on the go, it's a good idea to explore a few options.
So go ahead and drink what you need to stay healthy. Your skin and organs need water and your body can handle this.
ABOUT OUR EXPERT
Dr. Joshua Thurman, MD is a board-certified nephrologist and professor of medicine specializing in kidney disease and hypertension at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He received his medical degree from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and his bachelor's degree from Harvard University. He has been working in the practice for over 22 years.
