Can we talk about that viral study claiming drinking 8 glasses of water a day is actually useless?

I bought into it for years until I read the actual paper and realized they only studied small groups of people in controlled lab settings, not real life, so who even funded that thing?

3 comments

3 Comments

hannah_wells2d ago

Oh I totally get the chugging thing because that's how I drink my coffee and it's fine, but the water thing is different. Actually the study that went viral wasn't really saying chugging is useless, it was more about the old 8 glasses a day rule being made up from old research that never had any real proof. I read somewhere that the original recommendation came from a 1945 study that said people need about 2.5 quarts of water a day, but they conveniently left out the part where it said most of that comes from food. So chugging water after a workout is definitely fine, the study was really just saying you don't need to force yourself to hit some exact number if you're not thirsty and you're eating fruits and veggies. That's why some days I'll have like four glasses and other days I'll have maybe two and I feel fine either way.

hannahcraig2d agoTop Commenter

Same! I stopped chugging water and actually felt better.

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ericcraig2d ago

Actually I'm going to push back here a little. Chugging water after a workout or first thing in the morning is the only way I can actually get enough fluid in me, sipping just leaves me dehydrated and headachey. I tried the slow drinking thing for a week and felt awful, so I went right back to chugging and my body seemed way happier with the big gulps.