An extra glass of water today might save your life in 30 years

New research supports an old idea: If you are well hydrated, you are more likely to live and healthy life, and you're less likely to get a whole host of nasty diseases, including heart failure, stroke, atrial fibrillation and peripheral artery disease, as well as chronic lung disease, diabetes, and dementia.

Says who? This comes from a January 2023 science paper, based on a massive study of 11,255 adults, with data gathered over 30 years. The paper was written by scientists at the federally funded National Institute for Health.

Why this is a big deal: The list of nasty outcomes above is huge and long and scary. It would be amazing to significantly cut down your risk of dementia and diabetes with something as easy and pleasant as a tall glass of water.

Yes, but: The current paper only reports a correlation. In other words, we can't say for sure whether being more hydrated will make you live longer. Maybe longer-lived people exercise more, which makes them more thirsty, which means they drink more... you see where I'm going.

So what specifically can you do now? You could drink more, right now. But your editor at Long Youthspan has long been skeptical of chugging gross quantities of water, ever since reading Matt Stone's Eat For Heat.

The Long Youthspan recommendation: Just ask yourself, "Am I thirsty right now?" If you find that the answer is yes, get some liquid. Make it water, broth, a tangerine, or maybe a Bloody Mary (fine, that probably won't help your longevity).

Who knows? An extra glass of water today and tomorrow might save your life down the line. The NIH scientists say that half of us don't get the recommended daily water intake, which starts at 6 cups, and goes up based on how sweaty and salty you get during the day.