Forget about the 8 glasses of water per day rule, according to these experts

You’ve probably heard that drinking eight glasses of water per day is key or that you should get more fluids when sick. 

But just how much water does a person really need?

There are a lot of myths about hydration out there, but for most healthy adults, your body will tell you when it’s time to drink up, says Dr. Jane Thornton, a sports medicine physician and former Olympic rower based in London, Ont.

“Essentially we should be drinking according to thirst. That doesn’t always work, but it’s good guidance for most of us,” Thornton told Dr. Brian Goldman, host of CBC’s The Dose. 

She says factors like extreme heat, cold, age and duration of exercise all play into when and how much a person should drink.

Experts say there are some simple guidelines to follow to make sure you’re properly hydrated, even in winter.

“[For] most of us, we don’t need to overcomplicate things,” said Stephen Cheung, a professor in Brock University’s kinesiology department.

Do I need eight glasses of water per day?

The short answer is no.

Researchers said in a recently published study that “one size does not fit all” when it comes to the eight glasses per day water drinking guideline.

The researchers found that a person’s water needs vary based on several factors like age, health status, sex, physical activity levels and local climate. 

Most people don’t need to drink two litres of water a day because they’ll also get fluids from other sources like fruits and vegetables or coffee and tea.

So instead of drinking a one-size-fits-all amount of water every day, Thornton says most people should drink when they feel thirsty.

“There’s no magic number,” she says. 

Cheung says one of the biggest myths around hydration is that you need to be constantly drinking. 

“There are some exceptions, but for the large part your thirst is a wonderful tool,” he says. “It is more than enough to really have you drinking sufficiently day-to-day.”

Young children and infants are the exceptions — they often are not able…