Since there are so many great apps out there, I want to ask the ever-so-important question: Which one is absolutely essential to your daily life?
I'll go first: Waterllama! I started using it a few months ago because I really like to know precisely what and how much I drink each day, especially during the summer.
I'd love to hear about the app you use the most and why it's so important to you. And if you have any tips or tricks for getting the most out of the app, I'd love to hear those too!
When I lived in Phoenix, dehydration really was an hour by hour issue. Aside from people spending long periods of time in extreme conditions, you are correct though. If you spend your days in an air conditioned home or office, 8 glasses a day is probably excessive. If you are going to drink that much, make sure you are replenishing your electrolytes too. A typical highly processed American diet is probably sufficient though.
Heat stroke might've been an hour to hour issue. But the human body is 60% water. You're not going to sweat out the several kilograms of water required to shift that percentage significantly, even within a whole day.
Yes, a human will die of thirst before hunger, but that still takes days, not hours, and the majority of that liquid loss will be due to urination, not heat related sweating.
The bad feels of hot weather has more to do with the heat itself, and the salts and those electrolytes you're sweating out.