00:00Water makes up 60% of your body weight.
00:03It's literally everywhere inside of you.
00:06From your blood to your organs to your muscles.
00:09We literally can't live without water.
00:12But what happens if we only drink water for an extended period of time?
00:18To answer this question, let's break down exactly what happens to your body after 24 hours.
00:2636 hours and finally 48 hours.
00:29So, stick around to the end of this video.
00:32Starting with 24 hours.
00:35After just 24 hours without any other drinks besides water,
00:39the first thing that will happen is that you'll most likely have a headache.
00:43That's because when you don't consume any kind of liquids besides water,
00:47it starts to flush out all the sugars and sodium from your body.
00:52This process of removing these substances from your blood causes them to become...
00:57which triggers your brain to send signals to your spinal cord to increase the amount of fluid in your body.
01:03Your body tries to get rid of excess salt by increasing your urine output.
01:08And this will cause dehydration, leading to headaches.
01:12In fact, one study found that mild dehydration lowered physical performance,
01:18while another showed that even slight dehydration caused people to report experiencing significantly more headaches.
01:26However, for some people, this doesn't kick in until they're severely dehydrated,
01:32which means that some people never experience it.
01:36Still, though, when it kicks in, it can be pretty bad.
01:41The next thing that will happen is that you'll feel tired.
01:44This is because your body needs a lot of water to function properly,
01:48and not having enough water can really slow you down.
01:51The exact amount of water needed varies from person to person.
01:57But on average, men should be getting about 15.5 cups of water per day,
02:02while women should be getting about 11.5 cups of water per day.
02:08When you don't get enough water, your body will start to feel sluggish,
02:12and you may find it difficult to focus on tasks or make decisions.
02:16On top of that, one study found that even slight dehydration impaired cognitive performance among healthy young men.
02:25Now, obviously, everyone is different, and some people might not notice any difference,
02:33but others could struggle to do simple mental tasks.
02:36But that's not all.
02:38Not drinking anything besides water for 24 hours will also make you feel very full.
02:43That's because your body has a natural balance of fluids and electrolytes.
02:48And when you remove certain drinks like coffee, tea, and soda from your diet,
02:54your body becomes unbalanced.
02:57This imbalance can trigger hunger hormones like ghrelin
03:00to tell your brain that you need to eat more food to bring your body back into balance.
03:06At the same time, it suppresses the hormones that signal fullness like leptin.
03:11So, essentially, your body will think that you have undeaten in 24 hours,
03:17and it will try to force you to eat by making you feel hungry.
03:22So, what happens after 36 hours of only drinking water?
03:26After 36 hours, the fatigue will set in.
03:30And this is because when you don't drink anything besides water for an extended period of time,
03:35your body starts to lose essential minerals like sodium, potassium, and magnesium.
03:41These minerals are important for many bodily functions,
03:45including muscle, contraction, and nerve impulses.
03:49So, when you're low on these minerals,
03:51your muscles will start to feel weak, and you'll feel tired.
03:55On top of that, not drinking anything besides water for 36 hours
04:00will start to affect your kidneys.
04:02Your kidneys are responsible for filtering waste products from your blood
04:07and turning them into urine.
04:09But when you're dehydrated, your kidneys can't do their job properly
04:12and waste starts to build up in your bloodstream.
04:16This can lead to kidney failure and, in extreme cases, death.
04:20Now, again, you have to remember that everyone is different,
04:24and some people will experience these symptoms before others.
04:28For example, elite athletes who train their bodies to be efficient at conserving water
04:33might go much longer than 36 hours before experiencing these symptoms.
04:39But what actually happens after 48 hours of only drinking water?
04:44Well, by now, you, LL, definitely be feeling weaker and lethargic.
04:50Due to the lack of nutrients and minerals in your body,
04:54In fact, after just 48 hours, you can experience something called heat stroke,
05:00which is when your body gets too hot because it can no longer cool itself down.
05:05That's because when you're dehydrated, your body can't sweat as effectively.
05:10Sweating is how your body cools itself down.
05:14But when you're not taking in enough fluids,
05:16your body will start to overheat, and this can lead to heat stroke.
05:21Heat stroke is a serious condition that can cause permanent damage to your brain and other organs.
05:27If left untreated, it can be fatal, so it's important to take breaks.
05:33Stay in the shade and drink plenty of fluids when it's hot outside
05:36to prevent dehydration and heat stroke.
05:40In addition to that, after 48 hours of only drinking water,
05:44your metabolism will start to slow down.
05:46That's because your body uses water to transport nutrients to your cells.
05:52So when you're dehydrated, your cells don't get the nutrients they need,
05:56and they start to shut down.
05:58Now, there's actually a term for this phenomenon.
06:02It's called autocannibalism,
06:04which occurs when the body begins to break down its own tissues for energy.
06:09And this isn't limited to fat tissue either.
06:11It actually affects every tissue in the body.
06:14When someone is severely dehydrated,
06:17their body will start to break down their own muscles and organs for energy.
06:22And this leads to severe weight loss.
06:24The average person loses about two pounds of water weight per day
06:28through things like sweating and urination.
06:31But when you add in the fact that your body is breaking down its own tissues for energy,
06:36you can see how quickly the weight can add up.
06:39Just imagine how much muscle mass you could lose over the course of 48 hours
06:44if your body is going through a breakdown of its own tissue.
06:47But that's not all.
06:48Your blood pressure will also drop,
06:51because when you're hydrated,
06:53your body can pump blood more efficiently.
06:56But when you're dehydrated,
06:58your blood volume drops,
06:59which means your heart has to work harder to pump blood throughout your body.
07:04This puts stress on your cardiovascular system and can lead to low blood pressure.
07:10Low blood pressure can cause you to feel dizzy or even faint.
07:15But that's not all.
07:16When your blood pressure drops,
07:18your kidneys will start to shut down,
07:21because they won't get enough blood flow.
07:24This can lead to kidney failure and, in extreme cases, death.
07:28So at this point, it's probably clear that you shouldn't only drink water for 48 hours.
07:35But what exactly happens to your body after 48 hours?
07:38Well, by now, you'll probably be feeling pretty sick.
07:43You may have a fever, a rapid heartbeat, and difficulty breathing.
07:48And if you're still conscious, you'll probably want to eat something.
07:51But unfortunately, you won't be able to,
07:54because your digestive system will have basically shut down by now.
07:59Even if you did eat something,
08:01your body would un-be able to digest it,
08:04because it does un-have the fluids necessary to break it down.
08:08And even if it did somehow digest it,
08:11your body wouldn't be able to absorb any nutrients from the food,
08:15because it's too dehydrated.
08:17If you somehow made it past this stage,
08:20your body would start to go into organ failure,
08:23because all of your organs rely on water to function properly.
08:28Without water, they simply cannot work.
08:31And this means that you'd basically be dead.
08:34Now, obviously, this is an extreme scenario,
08:38and it would be extremely unlikely for someone to survive
08:41for 48 hours without drinking anything besides water.
08:46In fact, most people would die within 24 hours.
08:50But it's important to understand the dangers of dehydration,
08:54so that you know how to stay safe.
08:57That being said,
08:58there are people who have gone without water for longer than 48 hours.
09:03There was a man named Angus Barty,
09:05who went 88 days without drinking water.
09:09He had a rare medical condition that allowed him to survive without water.
09:13He lived in Australia and drank only water from his air conditioner.
09:17However, he had to be hospitalized multiple times due to complications from his condition.
09:24Despite this, he still holds the record for the longest time a person has gone without water.
09:30Another person who was able to survive without water for an extended period of time
09:36was Francisco Domingo Joaquim.
09:38He was a homeless man from Brazil who went 250 days without drinking water.
09:44However, he didn't hold his state record for long,
09:47because shortly after he died of tuberculosis,
09:50now there are two main takeaways from these stories.
09:54First, humans cannot survive without water.
09:57Both of these men had to drink water in order to survive.
10:02Second, trying to survive without water is dangerous and should not be attempted.
10:07These men were able to survive without water for extended periods of time,
10:13but they suffered greatly because of it.
10:15They both spent multiple months in the hospital and they both eventually died.
10:20However, there are some people who can survive without water for longer than others.
10:25This is because everyone's body is different,
10:28and some people are better at conserving water than others.
10:32For example, elite athletes often have a higher percentage of body fats than the average person,
10:38which means they have more water stored in their body.
10:42This allows them to go longer without water,
10:45but even the best athletes can only go so long.
10:48One study found that even elite triathletes need to drink water during ultra-endurance events
10:54to prevent dehydration.
10:57Now this is important, because dehydration is no joke.
11:01When you're dehydrated, your body can't function properly,
11:04and it can lead to serious health problems.
11:07So it's important to drink enough water every day to prevent dehydration.
11:12How much water you need depends on many factors,
11:16including your activity level, the climate you live in, and your overall health.
11:22But in general, men should be getting about 15.5 cups of water per day,
11:28while women should be getting about 11.5 cups of water per day.
11:33Now if you want to know what would happen if you only ate water for 48 hours,
11:38check out the next video.
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