Is there a difference between being thirsty and dehydrated? Like scientifically, biologically – by the time you notice that you are thirsty, are you already dehydrated?

Question

Is there a difference between being thirsty and dehydrated? Like scientifically, biologically – by the time you notice that you are thirsty, are you already dehydrated?

In: Biology

Answer 1

The purpose of thirst is to prevent dehydration. Some may claim that it’s the first sign of dehydration, but I feel that makes the definition of dehydrated too broad to be useful.