Health Effects of Drinking Water while Standing

Water is a major source of life on earth and in the human body. It is important to keep the body hydrated, flush out harmful toxins, improve blood circulation and maintain overall health. But are you really getting the maximum benefits? By taking large gulps of water each time, we leave ourselves feeling more demanding and lacking. But, where are we going wrong? The habit of drinking water while standing has become a big problem.

We all know how important it is to drink water, not only to stay hydrated but to ensure that the body functions properly. Keeping track of the water you use is important, but not enough. You should also know the right way to drink water for better health.

You may have never thought that this is the right way to drink or not, but if you listen to your elders at least once, you will know how important it is to drink water while sitting down.

Health effects of drinking water while standing

When you stand, both your body and tissues are under tension. When you drink water, it quickly flows down your body, disrupting the current balance of body fluids. Let’s mention the negative health effects.

 Arthritis

This disease may come as a big shock to you, but drinking standing up causes arthritis. This can disrupt the fluid balance in your body, causing arthritis to worsen the health of your joints. It may not happen at first, but after symptoms start to appear, if you drink standing up, it is wise to stop immediately.

Excessive thirst

Drinking water standing up will not quench your thirst, even if there is plenty of it. And none of the essential nutrients are properly distributed by your body. It makes you thirsty again and again. To relieve dryness, sit back and sip water so it stays in your liver and then circulates the vitamins.

Heartburn

Drinking water standing up can wreak havoc on your digestive system. This is because when you drink standing up, it goes through the alimentary canal with great force and speed and falls directly on the lower stomach which is harmful. “When someone drinks water quickly while standing, the nerves become stressed, which disrupts the fluid balance, leading to increased toxins and indigestion,” says Dr. Rustagi.

Risk to the lungs

When you drink water standing up, the necessary nutrients and vitamins do not reach the liver and digestive tract. When you stand up and drink water, it travels through the system really fast and it endangers the function of your lungs and heart because the oxygen levels are disturbed like that.

Kidney problems

It has been found that our kidneys filter water better than sitting still. “When drinking water standing up, the fluid passes through the lower abdomen under high pressure without any filtration. Dr. Rustagi says that this causes the waste to settle in the bladder and harm the functioning of the kidneys. It can even cause urinary tract infections.

What is the best way to drink water?

Our on-the-go lifestyle has actually made us forget the proper way to drink water. We drink bottled water and that which is refrigerated or ice cold. We drink with greasy food or just standing in front of the refrigerator and we just throw it in. But, this is where we are going wrong. Actually lukewarm water is ideal and taking small sips is much better.

 Wet your tongue before swallowing. Swish it in your mouth and drink room temperature or lukewarm water. Sit in a quiet, pleasant environment, and sip to get the maximum health sip. Standing up and drinking too fast causes a lack of oxygen in both the respiratory tract leading to lung and heart problems.