According to research, the heatwave is due to come to an end, with heavy rain in place towards the end of the week.
Despite this, the temperature for the week is still going to be above 20 degrees Celsius in most of the UK, leaving people in the UK drinking more water than normal to stay cool and hydrated.
Sally Duffin, Nutritionist at Nutrition in York working with Pura Collagen, answers how much water we should be drinking, and the signs we should look out for if we do go over-and-beyond with our water allowance.
How much water is too much water?
“This question varies person-to-person, but generally speaking, consuming more than three litres within an hour, hugely increases the risk of hyponatremia.”
What is hyponatremia?
“Hyponatremia is where the sodium levels in the blood fall too low. Sodium is an electrolyte in the body, and it helps regulate the amount of water that’s in and around your cells. The cells basically swell, and then condition from that can be either very mild, or life-threatening. Symptoms may include being sick, headaches or general confusion.”
Best advice
“It’s better to sip water regularly over the day and enjoy hydrating foods such as watermelon, and cucumber. These foods have good water content, alongside other beneficial nutrients.
Most adults normally need 1.5-2 litres per day, plus water from foods, but this increases in the hot weather, and doing exercise.”
Best advice for children
“Many kids get distracted from drinking their water as they’re too busy playing and forget to drink, so most children will need regular reminders and encouragement to drink more than normal. The British Nutrition Foundation advise approximately of 1.1-1.3 litres per day for 4–8-year-olds, 1.3-1.5 litres for 9-13 year old girls, and 1.5-1.7 litres per day for 9-13 year old boys. This is, again, on top of foods like whole fruits, yoghurts and salads, where water intake is higher.”