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Health

10th Oct 2016

Here’s one way to tell if you’re drinking enough water

Megan Roantree

Listen to your body.

We are constantly told that water is good for you, almost any health problem we have, we are advised to ‘drink more water’.

With all these warnings there is surely some people by now who drink enough of it.

If you think you are one of these people, there is an easy way to tell.

A recent study by Michael Farrell and his at the Monash University in Melbourne found that it’s all about listening to your body.

It found that swallowing played an important and subtle role in controlling our fluid intake. While thirst is one feeling, the ease at which your drink goes down indicated a lot too.

If we are dehydrated, swallowing is effortless; if we are over-hydrated, swallowing feels more difficult, putting us off drinking.

The research team asked volunteers to rate the sensation of taking a small sip of water. They found that people who had recently drunk a lot of water said it took much more effort to swallow than those who were mildly hydrated.

Do you ever notice that when you’re really thirsty, a whole pint of water will glide down your throat without effort? However if you’re forcing yourself to drink it doesn’t happen as easily.

So next time you’re forcing a drink down, remember that you may not need it.

 

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