16 Ways You’re Drinking Water Wrong

2. You’re drinking more water than you need

According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), “the vast majority of healthy people adequately meet their hydration needs by letting thirst be their guide.” If you’re forcing yourself to chug through gallons of water, you might be drinking too much. And yes, there is such thing as “too much,” especially since there’s no scientific proof that drinking extra water has any health benefits.

Drinking too much can cause hyponatremia, which is also called “water intoxication”, a condition in which the sodium levels in the blood become dangerously low and can result in swelling in the brain, seizures, and coma. Under normal conditions, you’d have to drink a huge amount of water to experience hypernatremia; however, if you’re a serious runner or a particularly salty sweater, you could harm yourself by downing H2O too quickly. For these people, sports drinks such as WTRMLN WTR can be useful in replenishing sodium and electrolytes in the body.