Virtually nothing is more important to us humans than H2O, yet we constantly neglect to hydrate ourselves properly. Failing to drink enough water can cause a variety of problems, among them cramping, kidney stones, headache, anxiety attacks, constipation, and many, many others. http://www.shapefit.com/10-reasons-drink-water.html

Awful stuff, no? To avoid all of that, you need to drink down a river of water on a daily basis. (Well, not quite a river.) But your hydration needs depend a great deal on your lifestyle and your state of health. If you're a sedentary soul who's feeling good and who doesn't drink a lot of coffee or Coke or beer, you can get away with less. If you're an always-on-the-move athlete, you really need to concentrate on drinking more than the average person. If you're feeling sick, you likewise need to drink more water than you might be naturally inclined to. This guide will help you sort through determine what your hydration needs are, and how to meet them.

A good basic guideline is that you should have somewhere from two to three quarts of water a day. For some people, this means being conscious to drink water even if you don't have a mouth resembling the desert; for others, simply slaking your thirst will be sure to hydrate you properly throughout the day. The area where you live also makes a difference; residence in a hot, humid area (say, Houston) will mean that you need to make sure to drink even more than two to three quarts. In contrast, if you live in the Pacific Northwest, you can probably get away with a little bit less.

Likewise, your age and physical condition can also make you more vulnerable to dehydration. For instance, young children, the elderly, and the obese are at greater risk of dehydration, and thus must focus more than others on drinking enough water.

Athletes, of course, also need to drink more water, which is what we'll discuss next.

If you're a runner, an aerobics fiend, a basketball rat, or any other type of athlete, it's important to amp up your hydration, both to replace the fluids you lose during the daily sweating, and to avoid cramps while you work out. To accomplish this, it's important to hydrate lightly while working out (gulping it down by the gallon while you work out will just give you stomach cramps), substantially after the exercise is done, and consistently over the course of the day even when you are not working out. Experts also recommend that you drink 16 ounces about two hours before the workout, plus another 16 ounces abut 15 minutes to a half hour before you begin.http://www.texasheartinstitute.org/hic/topics/hsmart/hydrate.cfm

You should let your thirst determine how much water you need during the workout; as soon as you feel the urge to sip back some H20, do so, but in moderation. How much water you need to drink afterward depends on the intensity of the workout and the natural propensity to sweat of the exerciser, but a could way to check is to way yourself naked before and after a typical workout. Whatever the difference in weight from pre- to post-exercise, that's roughly the amount of water weight that you lost, and must replace. For instance, if you went from 185.5 pounds to 183, you lost 40 ounces of water, which means you need to drink five cups of water to rehydrate properly.http://www.runnersworld.com/marathon/article-new_rules.html

Staying hydrated is vital for people suffering from ailments like the seasonal flu or a stomach bug. Because such an illness is likely to cause diarrhea and vomiting, much of the water in a person's system is expelled quickly. Furthermore, because such sickness usually causes one to skip their meals, which are a significant source of water ingestion, the problems of hydration are compounded even further.

There are many ways one can hydrate himself during sickness, the most obvious being by drinking water. If you're not up to eating full meals, juices, smoothies, and yogurts can help keep the system hydrated. Eating meals of chicken noodle soup also helps, because the salty broth helps make you thirsty. http://www.rodale.com/swine-flu-treatment

If you're stomach is so unsettled that even a small glass of water provokes vomiting, staying properly hydrated is going to be a bit tricky, but it's important to give it a proper attempt.