It is a universally-acknowledged truth that human beings cannot help drinking water, since approximately 75 percent of fat-free mass of the human body is made of this precious fluid.
In other words, it would be like denying the simple scientific principle for which each similar attracts its own similar.
Iowalola Awoyinka, a teaching assistant at the UW-Madison Kinesiology Department and soccer instructor, confirmed that thought.
Water,\ she said, ""is important for several reasons. A decrease in water will decrease plasma volume, which in turn will decrease your heart's stroke volume. Stroke volume needs to be maintained in order to maintain your cardiac output (a measure of how hard your heart is working). Also, it is critical to maintain fluid levels with appropriate electrolyte (sodium, potassium and calcium) balance. Without this balance you can have problems with tissue function, as contraction of muscles, heart, etc. is dependent on the tightly-regulated concentrations of these substances.""
As a consequence, doctors and experts generally recommend drinking, on average and according to one's lifestyle, at least half a gallon of water each day. As usual, some individuals follow these suggestions, while others do not.
Indeed, if not drinking enough poses serious threats to our health, excessive drinking can cause serious consequences and lead, in extreme cases, to death.
Exaggerations? Rumors? Not really, if we look back to what happened a couple of years ago during the Boston Marathon—a woman died because she drank too much.
Since then, water is not provided every mile in a marathon anymore, as it used to be.
Is this an isolated case or a condition which can occur to anybody if not enough attention is paid?
Ronnie Carda, coordinator of UW-Madison's physical education program and a marathon coach, explained the phenomenon.
""To be more specific, this phenomenon is called hyponatremia. It is due to a low concentration of sodium in the body; it is clearly the opposite of dehydration and it is mainly associated with long-distance events like running or cycling,"" Carda said.
""It must be clear, therefore, that the risk of hyperhydratation is mainly associated to four to five hour long activities and, even in those cases, if simple norms are followed, nothing serious is going to happen to the athlete,"" he added.
It seems very simple, but what renders water intoxication deceitful is the fact that though the condition is opposite to dehydration, the symptoms generally mirror those of the latter.
Apathy, confusion, nausea and fatigue manifest themselves, although some individuals show no signs at all.
According to Patrick Zibell, president and CEO of Evolution Exercise, very little research has actually been done about hyponatremia.
""It is much more common for dehydration to occur by a longshot than overhydration,"" he said.
Zibell added that an individual would have to drink at least two gallons of water. Getting people to drink even half a gallon, equivalent to eight glasses of water, is incredibly difficult.
It sounds reassuring to all those who play basketball with their peers just for fun, but in order to feel safer, how do we have to prevent the abuse of water when we play sports?
""Following simple and straightforward guidelines like drinking four to six ounces of water or Gatorade every 15 minutes should prevent anyone [from getting] in trouble,"" Carda said.
A suggestion was given by Awoyinka as well. ""In terms of hydration, people should remember to drink water or sport drinks regularly and also that hydration is a continual process, and it should not be assumed that drinking a lot before could prevent us to assume fluids during the effort.""
""Also,"" Carda said, ""Once an athlete is about to sustain a long, extended effort, my suggestion would be to eat two salt packets, like those we can find in the restaurants, before and during the competition.""\
