--- title: The Amount of Water You Actually Need Per Day description: Should you drink 8 glasses of water a day? How much water you should drink for performance and to avoid dehydration depends on the person canonical: https://time.com/4048173/water-drinking-tips/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-25T14:19:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:04:54.804Z article:section: Health og:title: The Amount of Water You Actually Need Per Day og:description: Hint: it's not always eight glasses og:url: https://time.com/4048173/water-drinking-tips/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0a2427ec9113da54/6988652e196cf41f1f0382ea/water-bottle.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3630 og:image:height: 2042 og:image:alt: water-bottle og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Amount of Water You Actually Need Per Day twitter:description: Hint: it's not always eight glasses twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0a2427ec9113da54/6988652e196cf41f1f0382ea/water-bottle.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 01:30 video:published: 2015-02-04 section: health topics: seltzer water, carbonated water, sugar-free drinks, soda alternatives, bone density, calcium, hydration, nutrition myths genre: explainer, expert interview tones: informative, light, reassuring, playful emotions: reassurance (medium), curiosity (medium), amusement (low) sentiment: positive audience: health-conscious consumers, parents, soda drinkers, general readers people: Laureen Smith, Robert Heaney, Douglas Kiel, Sarah Bleich, Adam Drewnowski organizations: Ohio State University, Creighton University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Center for Public Health Nutrition at the University of Washington products: seltzer, soda, tap water transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # The Amount of Water You Actually Need Per Day > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=386341a6-cf4b-4f35-bb13-6045a5a540c3&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Should I Drink Seltzer Water? [Watch (HLS stream): Should I Drink Seltzer Water?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SSdTN2EQ.m3u8) (1:30)  _Published 2015-02-04. Seltzer -- also known as bubbly water, carbonated water, soda water and sparkling water -- comes with as many health myths as it does names. Luckily, seltzer is one of the rare instances where something you love drinking isn’t bad for you._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary The video explains that seltzer, also called bubbly, carbonated, sparkling or soda water, is a healthy drink despite many myths around it. Several experts are cited on its lack of calories and sugar, its effect on bones, its possible role in fullness, and its association with upscale settings. The video closes by describing seltzer as essentially tap water with a premium image. ## Key points - Seltzer is a great soda alternative because it has no calories or sugar. (00:20) - Professor Laureen Smith of Ohio State University says seltzer is useful for getting kids to stop drinking sugary sodas. (00:24) - The carbonation in seltzer won't leech calcium from your bones. (00:32) - Seltzer is not associated with lower bone density in women or men, according to studies by Robert Heaney and Douglas Kiel. (00:36) - Sarah Bleich of Johns Hopkins School of Public Health says drinking seltzer is basically like drinking regular water and is harmless. (00:54) - According to one study cited in the video, the bubbles might help you feel more full and eat less fat. (01:00) - Adam Drewnowski says seltzer tends to grace the glasses of the rich. (01:08) - According to Drewnowski, seltzer water is just plain tap water going upscale. (01:15) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:20] Seltzer's many names and health myths. The video introduces seltzer's various names and notes the health myths surrounding it. - [00:20 to 00:36] Experts on sugar, calories and kids. Experts say seltzer is a soda alternative without calories or sugar and can help children cut back on sugary sodas. - [00:36 to 00:54] Bones and bone density. Studies cited in the video indicate carbonation does not leech calcium or lower bone density. - [00:54 to 01:30] Harmlessness, fullness and status. Experts describe seltzer as harmless like water, possibly filling, and associated with affluence. ## Key quotes - [00:20] Narrator: "Seltzer is a great soda alternative since it doesn't have calories or sugar." - [00:54] Sarah Bleich: "Basically, drinking seltzer water is like drinking regular water" - [01:08] Adam Drewnowski: "seltzer water tends to grace the glasses of the rich" - [01:15] Adam Drewnowski: "seltzer water is just plain tap water going upscale." ## Questions this video answers - Is seltzer water bad for you? [00:09] - Does seltzer have calories or sugar? [00:20] - Does carbonated water harm bone health? [00:32] - Can seltzer help people feel full? [01:00] - Is seltzer different from tap water? [00:54] by [Julie Mazziotta / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Julie Mazziotta / Health.com Contributor Sep 25, 2015 2:19 PM UTC  Bottle of water Bottle of water Getty Images by [Julie Mazziotta / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Julie Mazziotta / Health.com Contributor Sep 25, 2015 2:19 PM UTC Eight, 8 oz. glasses of water a day: it’s a [rule that’s been burned into our brains](http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20824599,00.html) for years as the ideal amount of fluid to drink each day. Yet no matter how many [times](http://www.foxnews.com/story/2007/12/24/seven-medical-myths-even-doctors-believe.html) [experts](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/25/upshot/no-you-do-not-have-to-drink-8-glasses-of-water-a-day.html) say that’s[ not quite accurate](http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20824599,00.html), many still believe “8×8” is the magic amount. The truth: How much water you should drink each day really, truly depends on the person, Robert A. Huggins, Ph.D., of the University of Connecticut explained to _Health_. “Fluid needs are dynamic and need to be individualized from person to person. Factors such as sex, environmental conditions, level of heat acclimatization, exercise or work intensity, age, and even diet need to be considered.” What this means is that simply listening to your thirst is the best way to gauge when to drink. Another way to monitor hydration is to look at your pee before you flush. You want it to look like [lemonade](http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20824599,00.html); if it’s darker than that, you should down a glass. **But what about exercise?** To gauge how much water you specifically should take in during exercise, Huggins recommends doing a small experiment on yourself. First, before you work out weigh yourself wearing with little to no clothing. “If you can, \[make sure you’re hydrated beforehand\] and avoid drinking while you exercise to make the math easy,” Huggins says. But if you get thirsty, don’t ignore it: drink some and make sure to measure the amount. After you’re done exercising, weigh yourself again. Then, take your first weight and subtract the second weight, and you’ll end up with how much fluid you lost. Convert this to kilograms (if you search it, Google will return the number for you or try a [metric converter](http://www.metric-conversions.org/weight/pounds-to-kilograms.htm)), then drink that amount in liters. (If you drank some water during exercise, subtract the amount of water you drank from your final total.) This is your “sweat rate,” Huggins says. It’s the amount of water you should drink during or after your next workout to replace what you’ve lost. (You can also use an [online calculator for sweat rate](http://www.triharder.com/thm%5Fswrate.aspx); just plug in your numbers.) Complicated much? We agree. Huggins estimates that most people lose between one to two liters of sweat for each hour of moderate intensity exercise. But ultimately thirst should still be your guide. **Why it’s important to get the right amount** You already know that dehydration can be dangerous, but over-hydrating may actually be just as bad. In fact, a new consensus report in the _British Journal of Sports Medicine_ found that many athletes are at risk of [exercise-associated hyponatremia](http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2015/07/14/bjsports-2015-095004.short?rss=1), which is an electrolyte imbalance that can be caused by drinking too much liquid. This can lead to nausea and vomiting, headaches, fatigue, and in serious cases, coma and even death. While it was previously thought to only be a concern for long-distance athletes competing in events like marathons and Ironmans, the paper (which was funded by CrossFit, Inc.) concluded that many athletes are actually dangerously over-drinking during events as short as 10K races and even bikram yoga classes, Tamara Hew-Butler, Ph.D., lead author of the paper, explained to _Health._ Because “it is impossible to recommend a generalized range especially during exercise when conditions are dynamic and changing, there is not one size that fits all!” she adds. So the best method to keep you in that sweet spot between over- and under-hydrated is, as with many things, to listen to your body. [_This article originally appeared on Health.com_](http://news.health.com/2015/09/16/the-amount-of-water-you-actually-need-per-day/?xid=time) _More from Health.com:_ * [7 Easy Ways to Drink More Water](http://www.health.com/health/video/0,,20836567,00.html?xid=time) * [12 Reasons Why Dehydration Is Bad for Your Body](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20924876,00.html?xid=time) * [Fat Water Is Now a Thing](http://news.health.com/2015/08/07/fat-water-is-now-a-thing/?xid=time) ## Transcript [00:01] Seltzer. Also known as bubbly water. Carbonated water. [00:05] Sparkling water. Soda water. Comes with as many health [00:09] myths as it does names. Luckily seltzer is one of the rare [00:13] instances where something you love to drink actually isn't [00:16] bad for you. We asked five experts. And all of them say [00:20] bottoms up to bubbles. Seltzer is a great soda alternative [00:24] since it doesn't have calories or sugar. Professor Laureen [00:28] Smith of Ohio State University says it's great for getting [00:32] kids to stop drinking sugary sodas. The carbonation [00:36] won't leech calcium from your bones and seltzer is not [00:40] associated with lower bone density in women. Men. That's [00:43] according to studies by Robert Heaney of the Creighton [00:46] University School of Medicine and Douglas Kiel of Harvard [00:50] Medical School. Basically, drinking seltzer water is like [00:54] drinking regular water, says Sarah Bleich of John's [00:57] Hopkins School of Public Health. It's harmless. The bubbles [01:00] might even help you feel more full and eat less fat, [01:04] according to one study. Lastly, seltzer water tends to grace [01:08] the glasses of the rich says Adam Drewnowski, Director of [01:12] the Center for Public Health Nutrition at the University of [01:15] Washington. According to him, seltzer water is just plain [01:19] tap water going upscale. 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