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By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern

It’s starting to warm back up here in Arizona, and it won’t be long till we are having triple-digit temperatures again! That means it’s time to exchange those cozy blankets and cups of hot chocolate for swimsuits, sunglasses, and ice-cold lemonades!

More importantly, with the temperatures rising, it is vital that we make sure that we are drinking enough water throughout the day to avoid dehydration. Often it has been said that everybody needs to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day, but new research shows that this amount actually varies from person to person.

A recent study analyzed the amount of water that our bodies turnover on a daily basis. In other words, they looked at how much water our bodies could process and how much we needed to replace. The averages that they found ranged between 1 and 6 liters of water per day.

Gender, Age and Level of Activity Influences Your Water Intake

The main reasons for the difference in daily water needs included age, gender, activity levels, and living environments. Overall, those who were younger had the highest water turnover, men have a higher turnover rate than women, and those who live very active lifestyles or are athletes also have a higher turnover rate than those who aren’t active. Also, those who live in very hot or humid climates also need more water than those who don’t as they are sweating out and shedding much more water.

So, there is no universal amount of water that each of us should be drinking each day. We are all made differently, live different lifestyles, and live in different climates. Thus, the amount of water that we drink each day needs to be based on our individual requirements. Considering that we live in Arizona, and it gets exceptionally hot here, it is even more important for us to prioritize drinking water, especially in the summer months!

For more health-related articles, check out the Fill Your Plate blog!