![\"close](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/3f0e384c777cf9bfbf66d1497f61e3e4.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
6 Surprising Signs You\u2019re Drinking Too Much Water d3sign – Getty Images<\/p>\n
“Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links.”<\/p>\n
Proper hydration keeps many of your bodily systems running smoothly and helps stave off dehydration<\/a>, which may lead to side effects like fatigue, muscle cramps, and headaches if left unaddressed. On the flip side, it is possible to take your H20 intake to the extreme and become overhydrated, especially if you fall into certain groups. There are signs you\u2019re drinking too much water, though, that can help you recognize when it\u2019s time to dial it back.<\/p>\n Meet the experts: Natasha Trentacosta, M.D.<\/a>, a sports medicine specialist and orthopedic surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedics in Los Angeles; Michael Klein, M.D.<\/a>, a kidney specialist with WMCHealth in Hawthorne, NY and an associate professor at New York Medical College.<\/p>\n \u201cOverhydration is when there is an excess of water intake compared to water loss,\u201d says Natasha Trentacosta, M.D.<\/a>, a sports medicine specialist and orthopedic surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedics in LA. Here, doctors explain the signs of overhydration you should know in order to modulate your water intake in a healthy way, plus who can become overhydrated.<\/p>\n Signs of overhydration to know<\/p>\n \u201cMild water overload often is asymptomatic,\u201d says Michael Klein, M.D.<\/a>, a kidney specialist with WMCHealth in Hawthorne, NY and an associate professor at New York Medical College. Still, there are some signs that may suggest an underlying issue with how your body is processing water (more on those below). According to the experts we spoke to, the most common signs include:<\/p>\n Gait instability or loss of coordination<\/p>\n Who can become overhydrated?<\/p>\n The average healthy person likely does not need to worry about overhydration. \u201cYour body is very effective at adjusting,\u201d says Dr. Klein. \u201cOnce you reach adequate water levels, your body just gets rid of the excess very efficiently, assuming a state of normal health.\u201d This is also the reason you don\u2019t immediately get sick from not drinking enough water, Dr. Klein adds, because your body can adjust to changes in your water intake.<\/p>\n Still, there are certain groups of people who need to be careful not to overhydrate. The first is people with certain kidney diseases, especially those who produce excessive amounts of antidiuretic hormone (ADH), which is also known as vasopressin. \u201cPeople who have an excess of ADH have strict water restrictions and water can be deadly. They have to be very careful,\u201d says Dr. Klein. He explains that in these people (whose official diagnosis is syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion<\/a>, or SIADH), ADH tells the body to hold onto water no matter how much you drink, which can lead to water intoxication if not accounted for.<\/p>\n A similar thing happens in people with liver disease and congestive heart failure, Dr. Klein says. \u201cIn heart failure<\/a>, your kidneys think you are dehydrated, and they will secrete these hormones, and if you drink water, you can get profoundly water toxic,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n Overhydration may also happen in athletes if they drink excessive amounts of water following strenuous exercise or activity, says Dr. Trentacosta. \u201cThis dilutes the sodium in their bodies and results in hyponatremia,\u201d she adds. Per the Mayo Clinic<\/a>, hyponatremia is a condition in which sodium levels drop dangerously low. In addition to the groups of people mentioned above, it may also occur in those taking diuretics or antidepressants, people who have adrenal gland insufficiency or low thyroid hormone, or those who have chronic and severe vomiting or diarrhea<\/a>.<\/p>\n Still, for most people, neither type will be an issue. \u201cNormally, drinking large amounts of water, even up to six gallons, can be managed by the natural ability of our bodies to regulate water excretion through the combined efforts of the pituitary gland, kidneys, liver, and heart,\u201d Dr. Trentacosta says. \u201cBut if any of these organs are dysfunctional, that upper limit can be lowered.\u201d<\/p>\n The bottom line<\/p>\n Overhydration is rare, but it can occur\u2014and in some cases, it may be caused by a serious issue that needs to be addressed. If you\u2019re regularly experiencing any of the symptoms above, it\u2019s definitely worth giving your physician a call.<\/p>\n You Might Also Like<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"6 Surprising Signs You\u2019re Drinking Too Much Water d3sign – Getty Images “Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":400672,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[202017,202022,97,202021,202016,202018,202019,202023,202020,86885],"class_list":["post-424176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-dr-klein","tag-drinking-too-much-water","tag-health","tag-kidney-specialist","tag-michael-klein","tag-natasha-trentacosta","tag-new-york-medical-college","tag-signs-of-overhydration","tag-sports-medicine-specialist","tag-water-intake"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=424176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424176\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/400672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=424176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=424176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=424176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}