Chug Water

Chugging too much water can be dangerous. Over-hydration can flood your system and imbalance your electrolytes, leading to "water intoxication" and sometimes even death. In moderation, however, you should be able to open your throat and chug water with little risk of injury beyond bloating. Make sure to chug safely and steadily!

Steps

Chugging Efficiently

  1. Make sure the water is at a comfortable drinking temperature. Water that is too cold will cause your throat to contract, making it harder to chug as quickly as you'd like. Hot water will burn the lining of your throat, making it painful to go on – and perhaps causing lasting damage.
  2. Chug from a wide-mouthed container. If you want to chug more quickly, drink from a container that has a wide mouth: a glass, a pitcher, a mason jar. Most water bottles feature a very narrow bottleneck, which slows the water as it pours from the container.
    • Technically speaking, you will be able to chug the most water at once from a bottleneck that most perfectly matches the size of your mouth. Bear in mind that your throat may not be able to keep up with this volume of water.
    • If you do use a plastic water bottle, you can try scrunching the end of the bottle as you chug. This will force the water out of the bottle more quickly than it would flow otherwise. Again, bear in mind that faster does not mean healthier.[1]
  3. Don't chug too quickly. If you flood your system with water, you may not be able to keep up with yourself. This could lead to choking, bloating, and water intoxication. If the water source doesn't limit the speed at which the water can pour into your throat, you will need to manually regulate the flow. Don't tip the container on its end – keep the water coming out at a manageable rate.

Opening Your Throat

  1. Tilt your head back about 45 degrees. Try to make your throat passage nearly vertical. Tip your head enough that the water runs down your throat from the force of gravity alone. This way, you won't need to engage your throat muscles to physically suck the water down your gullet. You should be able to chug more quickly as a result.
    • Don't tip your head back forward until you're done chugging water. If you shift your throat passage while the water is still draining, then that water might be slowed by the muscle contraction. This can cause you to choke.
    • Never chug while lying down. Chugging while horizontal increases the likelihood that the water will slip into your windpipe, causing you to choke.
  2. Relax your throat muscles and pour the water downward. If you feel your throat tense up, try to calm yourself. Do not make any swallowing motions, as these may actually slow the process. Pour at a steady rate to avoid a backup.
    • Be careful! It is easy to accidentally pour the water into your windpipe, which can cause a series of choking spasms.
  3. Make sure that you can breathe. If you are drinking from a bottle, leave a small gap between your upper lip and the top of the mouth of the bottle. This will allow air to flow past the mouth of the bottle. If you have an air source other than the inside of the bottle, then you won't need to pull the water source away from your mouth to take a breath.

Chugging in Moderation

  1. Understand the risk of hyponatremia, or "water intoxication." If you chug too much water, too fast, you can give yourself an electrolyte imbalance: your kidneys cannot flush the amount of water you've consumed, and your blood becomes waterlogged. This extra water can swell your brain cells, causing your brain to expand dangerously against the skull. Rapid and severe cellular swelling can cause seizures, respiratory arrest, coma, brain stem herniation, and even death.[2]
    • It's estimated that consuming more than 1.5 liters/hour over several hours can greatly increase your risk of hyponatremia.[3]
  2. Avoid chugging water when you are doing endurance activities. The risk of hyponatremia is especially high if you have been steadily exerting yourself over a long period of time – and even more so if you are performing in a hot environment. You lose sodium (an electrolyte) through sweat. Thus, drinking too much water to re-hydrate during endurance activities—such as marathons and triathlons—can dilute the sodium content of your blood.
  3. Don't drink so much that you choke or vomit. If you consume too much liquid at once, you can choke on it., as water spills into your airways. If you flood your stomach with more water than it can handle, you may involuntarily puke out the excess water.[4]
    • Make sure that there is no ice in the water. It is quite possible to choke to death on a chunk of ice.
  4. Consider sipping water instead. If you are trying to chug water for health and hydration benefits, keep in mind that chugging is no more efficient than sipping water. What's more, chugging can potentially counteract the positive effects of drinking water.[5] If you are chugging water for a competition: remember the risks, and think before you chug. Ask yourself whether winning this chugging contest is worth any potential damage to your body.

Tips

  • The longer you can comfortably hold your breath, the more water you will be capable of chugging.

Warnings

  • Do not drink more than one percent (1%) of your body weight in ounces of water at a time. Doing so may make you very sick, as your stomach will be unable to process this amount of water all at once. (1% of 150 lbs = 1.5 lbs, or 24 oz)
  • Never chug water when lying down. It could make you choke. You could hurt yourself or even die if the water flows into your lungs.
  • Beware of water poisoning.
  • Don't push it. If you hold your breath for too long, you may suddenly gasp and suck the water down your trachea into your lungs. This is how people die when they drown.
  • Never have a water chugging contest.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=116910831
  2. ↑ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1770067/
  3. ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hyponatremia/basics/definition/con-20031445
  4. ↑ http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/HealthandSafety/Alerts/chugging.aspx
  5. ↑ http://q.equinox.com/articles/2013/02/hydration-myths

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