The official recommendation from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is actually quite chill. They say about 3.7 liters (15.5 cups) for men and 2.7 liters (11.5 cups) for women each day. But before you start panicking and measuring your pee in containers, remember that’s for total fluid. That includes that morning coffee, the bowl of soup you ate for lunch, and even that juicy watermelon you snacked on. You don’t have to be chugging from a gallon jug like a competitive eater at a state fair.
Think of it this way: your body is a slow-draining bucket. You’re not trying to fill it to the brim; you’re just trying to keep the water level from getting dangerously low. If you’re a desk jockey like me, you probably need less than a marathon runner. And if you live in Arizona in July? Yeah, you might need to treat your insides like a kiddie pool on a hot day.
