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Comment by trillic | Hacker News Reader

I drink tons of water, I try and drink my 32 oz bottle once an hour when I'm working. I feel more productive for two reasons because I do this: 1. I'm not dehydrated, 2. it forces me to get up to use the restroom a lot more than usual. This forces me to have lots of mini breaks almost every hour or so to walk and fill up my bottle and use the restroom.

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You may wish to go see your doctor, that doesn't seem normal (excess fluid consumption can be a sign of diseases like diabetes). And more worrying you're bordering on water intoxication at 32 oz/hour:

> Your kidneys can eliminate about 5.3-7.4 gallons (20-28 liters) of water a day, but they can't get rid of more than 27-33 ounces (0.8-1.0 liters) per hour.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318619.php

Also, you don't need 8 glass of water a day, that is a myth, you should listen to your body[1].

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/25/upshot/no-you-do-not-have...

There are only 24 hours in a day, so how it is possible to eliminate 28 liters in 24 hours without exceeding 1 liter per hour?

Presumably your body uses or stores some of it.

Sweat. The comment above was about kidneys only.

Try this: weight yourself before and after sleep.

You're also breathing in your sleep, exhaling carbon, which is normally how you lose weight anyways.

yes! veritasium did a pretty fun video on this some time back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL2e0rWvjKI

Did he take a 1.5Kg dump? Isn't that a huge one?

Body needs water so it doesn't have to eliminate all that it gets! Do you think we drink water to rinse our internal organs?

Why do you think they call it a liquid "cleanse" diet.

If you mean detox diet then water may be a part of it but it is not a detox diet itself.

I agree, despite the other comments, the math doesn't work out here.

Yes, the statement is about kidneys. It is only about kidneys, though, and includes all of the information.

No, it has nothing to do with breathing or any other method of eliminating water. The statement says that kidneys max out at 1.0 liters per hour, and 28 liters per day. One of those 2 is obviously wrong, unless we aren't talking about Earth.

I appreciate the concern and am aware of the dangers that come with over-hydration. It's a 32oz bottle but I probably put about 16oz of ice in it, and the water is ice cold so most of the ice doesn't melt. I also don't necessarily do it every hour on the hour, it's just a habit that I've found helps me stay focused.

Yep let's overwork our kidneys to learn the guitar

edit: seriously though I'm pretty sure that's not good for you. That sounds actually being in the ballpark of water poisoning.

He’s fine. A typical developer’s true work day is probably all of one gallon.

> I try and drink my 32 oz bottle once an hour when I'm working.

Seriously, how do you get any work done? Thats like a sip every 30 seconds.

I refill my 26 oz water bottle about once every hour. It's not about sipping, I drink about a third or fourth of the bottle every time I pick it up.

I have a habit of continuing to drink when I have a glass of water in my mind. It refreshes my mind. So everytime I pick up the bottle, I drink nearly half of it just because it completely refreshes me.

So, its not really sipping but massive gulps every 10/20 mins or so.

Take bigger sips

I have never gone to the doctor for this, but I'm pretty sure I have ADD and funnily enough I think I am able to concentrate way better when I'm dehydrated. Being on an empty stomach also seems to help. Anybody know if there's an scientific reason for this?

>Being on an empty stomach also seems to help

There might be microbes (bacteria) in your gut (intestines, etc) that produce toxins that dull your thinking when they have food.

The gut-brain connection do seem to be true on my end.

I am always careful to avoid carbohydrates when I am starting work that is concentration heavy.

I have a similar carbohydrate problem too.

If I have more than a small amount of carbs in one sitting, my mind will get hazy and I'll get really sleepy an hour or so later.

I did a blood test recently and everything was OK, so I'm really not sure what the problem is.

And funny thing is that I don't seem to have this problem with quick sugars. I could have ice cream and chocolate and not crash at all.

Mixing tryptophan heavy foods (chicken / salmon / cheese / nuts) with carbs is gonna make you crash / sleepy.

Same thing with salted + carb heavy food, as the body starts putting on water (dry mouth, drinking loads, puffy + tired)

I'm the other way. If I'm hungry, I'm thinking about food all the time.

A key for me is to keep snacks on hand that aren't too bad for my health.

About 70 to 80 percent of the body's immune cells can be found in the gut. I strongly suspect this means eating is the single biggest immune challenge the body deals with in day-to-day life.

That's interesting that you mention that. I have ADD and I've taken Adderall for most of my life to treat it. One of Adderall's most common side effects is suppression of the appetite. On the days I don't take it I also feel like I'm able to concentrate way better when I'm dehydrated and my stomach is empty. I've always figured that's just because my body has adjusted to the side effects of Adderall after many years, but I'd be curious if there's any research that associates a lack of gut activity with higher concentration because I feel the exact same as you.

That seems like way too much water and surely bad for your kidneys.

32oz per hour?!?! Holy crap man, you are literally a human fountain.

Dangerous. You can die from water intoxication. It is an extremely painful way to die. Brain swells and is crushed by your skull https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

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