Is it Bad to Drink Too Much Water? (+ Diseases)

You know that “drinking a lot” is “good for your health”. But are you wondering whether drinking too much is a bad idea?

Are there any side effects or illnesses that can be triggered by drinking too much? And are you wondering what the symptoms are?

The answers, documented by my research into international medical literature!

♻️ Last update: November 11, 2024.
👩‍⚖️ Declaration of financial interests: none directly related to the subject. My complete declaration of financial interests is in the legal notice section.
Written by Nelly Darbois, physiotherapist and scientific editor

Reminder: how much water to drink

You’re probably familiar with the formula: an adult should drink between 1.5 and 2 liters of water a day.

However, this figure is only an average, and your needs may vary depending on several factors, such as :

• your age ,
• your weight ,
• your level of physical activity,
• if you sweat more than the average,
• the climate in which you live 🌞🌧️.

Knowing that the water in your tea, coffee and even the food you eat (especially fruit and vegetables) counts in this calculation.

Not to mention that this is “common sense” advice, but we don’t really know how to objectively assess the impact of drinking an average of 2L/day versus 1L/day of water on overall health, even though it may have an impact on indicators such as blood pressure or kidney function (Nakamura 2020).

It also appears that higher total water consumption is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular mortality. However, total water consumption is not associated with the risk of all-cause mortality (Majdi 2021).

You may be one of those people who try to drink a lot every day. For example, by always having a bottle of water to hand.

So you may be wondering whether there’s a risk in drinking too much, and how to recognize it.

What are the known risks associated with excessive water consumption?

Excessive water consumption is especially dangerous when exercising. Let’s take a look.

When you exercise

A research team investigated the scientific quality of information available on the Internet. They found that many websites and videos recommended drinking more water, especially during physical exertion.

But it does alert us to one thing: less than half the sites mention the risk of hyponatremia, which occurs when too much water is consumed.

Hyponatremia means “not enough sodium in the blood”.

This happens when a person drinks too much water during exercise, which dilutes the sodium in their body too much. Sodium is essential for fluid balance in the body, and when it’s too low, it can cause serious symptoms, such as:

• headaches,
• nausea,
• convulsions,
• and in extreme and very rare cases, this can be fatal.

Source: Hoffman 2016

In other situations

There are at least 5 other situations described where excessive water consumption can be a problem (they are very rare):

• Excessive desire to drink water due to a persistent sensation of thirst (known as potomania, or psychological polydipsia).
• Excessive water ingestion in prison torture or water-drinking competitions.
• Gastroenteritis leading to water loss.
• Kidneydisease or endocrine problems.
• Certain medications: diuretics, antidepressants.

Source: Peechakara 2023, Hoffman 2016

How can you tell if you’re drinking too much water? The symptoms

Symptoms of excessive water consumption are difficult to spot because they are not very specific , as they also appear in other contexts:

• confusion, delusions, hallucinations, disorientation,
• lethargy,
• headaches,
• drowsiness,
• bradycardia,
• hypertension.

In case of doubt, a blood sample is usually taken, and an attempt is made to assess your water consumption in relation to the water released in your urine and stools.

Source: Peechakara 2023

How do you find the right balance in your water consumption?

When exercising, you shouldn’t “force yourself to drink to compensate for the (small) loss of water”.

Simply drink as you feel thirsty. This limits the 2 risks associated with water consumption (drinking too much or too little).

The advice sometimes given to “drink before you’re thirsty, otherwise it means it’s too late” is not necessarily appropriate.

The same applies to non-exercise situations, unless you never feel thirsty in a 24-hour period.

This also means that if you’re very thirsty, drinking 3L of water a day isn’t a problem in itself.

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That’s all I wanted to say on the subject! Any questions or comments? See you in comments!