Drinking water is important, and many people do not drink the recommended 2L per day. Why, then, do we have to constantly remind ourselves to drink enough to meet those requirements?

Question

In other words, why is the body’s “red flag” so different than that for hunger? Why is the body’s mechanism to remind us to eat more conspicuous?

In: Biology

Answer 1

Because those are not requirements. They are recommendations for long-term health. Obviously we don’t require that much water because we can get by with less.

Unless you have some kind of serious disease, you will not die of dehydration because you don’t think about drinking water when you need to. Thirst will absolutely become overwhelming before you reach the point where you need to drink.

But our body, while very good at maintaining homeostasis and keeping us alive in the short-term, doesn’t have any knowledge of what is good for a human in the long-term. That is why a lot of our instincts are actually negative in the long-term. Most people will overeat, for instance, if given the chance and not educated as to why overeating is a bad thing.