It’s Friday: time to think about YOUR Happiness Project. This week: Don't worry about drinking enough water.

I’m working on my Happiness Project, and you should have one, too! Everyone’s project will look different, but it’s the rare person who can’t benefit. Join in -- no need to catch up, just jump in right now. Each Friday’s post will help you think about your own happiness project.

I was astonished to see that the goal-tracking site 43 Things reports that "Drink more water" is in the Top Ten list of people's goals. This is a waste of precious resolution-making energy! A person only has so much self-discipline (studies back this up), so you should choose your resolutions carefully – and in most circumstances, you just don’t need to worry about drinking enough water. If you're training for a marathon, or you live in the desert, you need to pay more attention to drinking water -- but I see a lot of people worrying about it while leading sedentary, air-conditioned lives.

From what I read, the research indicates that there’s no evidence for the familiar advice that you need eight glasses a day. That’s a myth. Despite what many people think, if you need water, you’ll feel thirsty.

If you like drinking water, that's great. I'm aiming this post at people who feel guilty for not drinking enough water, or who apply effort to keep themselves hitting the eight glasses a day. Because, if you stop worrying about drinking so much water, in one fell swoop, you can…
 direct your resolution-making energy to something that’s more likely to pay off for health and happiness, like going to sleep earlier or to exercising
 stop feeling guilty about not drinking enough water
 save money and help the planet
 eliminate chores

Now, I imagine a lot of people will protest that drinking water does great things for them. Is that right? Do you feel like you benefit from drinking tons of water?

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Gimundo has an interesting post about an exhibit of SMELLS. I've always thought that we don't pay enough to the possibilities of our sense of smell, and here is an exhibit of exotic and extinct odors. But I have to hope that the exhibit will go on the road -- alas, I'm just not going to make it to the University of Sunderland.

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Comments

[TasterSpoon]

I love that smell museum idea. Singapore's National Museum recently had an exhibit on food and there was a whole room of specimens of Southeast Asian spices - with little boxes where you could press a button and get a whiff of scent. I loved it!

[Marina Martin]

Studies or not, when I drink 120oz of water a day (including during working out), I feel significantly better than when I don't.

The issue with drinking more water is that people put way too much effort into it. You've got to make it drop-dead simple and then move on.

My solution: Buy three 32oz water bottles (i.e. Nalgenes). Fill them all at night. The next morning, grab the first bottle, keep it by you, and start drinking. At the end of the day you'll know exactly how much water you drank based on how much is left.

[Karen]

I find that drinking water makes a big difference - I get more sodium than I should, and if I don't drink a lot of water, I wake up with a headache the next day. I also think that if you rarely drink water, as I once did, your body stops telling you to drink it and asks for food instead. After I forced myself to drink more water for a while, my body began asking for it again. Now I don't count my water consumption at all, but I feel thirsty on a regular basis and I drink quite a bit most days.

[Brandon W]

I think drinking water is important, but as our host says, don't make a resolution of it. Just do it. Skip getting a drink at a restaurant and just have the water; it'll save you money too! If you're thinking you want a coffee, have a glass of water first and then decide if you really want that coffee. Simple things like these don't require a resolution, they just require your decision to try small tactics when the situation arises. If you feel you need a resolution to change, try a one-week resolution to replace all soda-pop with water. It doesn't take long to change your tastes, and realize that water really satisfies your thirst and soda-pop is disgustingly over-sweet.

[Improved Lives]

I completely agree Gretchen. The thing about water is that you're supposed to get just about all the water you need from the fruits and vegetables you eat. So if you find that you feel better drinking a significant amount of water each day you probably need to take a serious look at your diet. There are exceptions as you pointed out, but mostly its unnecessary.

[Mohammed (UK)]

The issue is not about drinking enough water. We need to drink enough fluids, but our body tells us when we are thirsty.

Problem is, selecting the unhealty option for the fluid when we do feel thirsty.

So, if there is a list item, it should be "when I feel thirsty, go for water (instead of ...)"

People think that it will help them lose weight, so it often appears there. In that case, "Drink lots of water before meals" may be a better resolution.

[Niel Malan]

It is not bad for me when I drink lots of water while working at the computer, because it forces me to take many bathroom breaks, which acts as a stress reliever. (If that's a pun, sorry.) Otherwise I can't say that it makes any difference whatsoever for normal living.

Drinking lots of water on hot days when driving around the city on errands in an un-airconditioned car helps prevent stress headaches for me; possibly also because of the bathroom breaks.

[Helen]

The Scent of Desire by Rachel Herz is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the issues associated with our sense of smell.

[Dane]

I agree with much that has been said here.

Be observant of your own responses to water and adapt accordingly. Ie be more accountable for your health and habits that contribute to it or taketh away.

There is one aspect missing. The 'energy' or life that our water possesses.

No matter how 'clean' our water ( of bacteria ) is via filters, chemicals etc it is still lifeless in terms of its ability to do carry out the full range of life giving functions it is able to. Possibly that is why some people don't feel as much positive impact as they would think.

If we take some time to learn more about what we believe is important ( water ) then you will find that you will honor it even more.

As is the case with much knowledge in our lives, we only know of what we are told. What we are told influences what we pursue. We have not been told much about water. So, to many of us it is just a clear liquid substance no matter what is happening at the microscopic/energetic level.

Google Viktor Schauberger and see what this amazing man had to share about water. He observed it for 20 years.

Anyway the point I haven't made yet is that water ain't water. It resonates with its immediate environment absorbing the beneficial or debilitating aspects of that environment.

Much research has been done on waters 'intelligence'. If this was more widely known then maybe we as consumers of drinking water could be the judge - not the mainstream scientists who deliver the message to mainstream media who far too often we believe without question.

You be the judge.

Dane

[Lisa]

I have read the though flouride is good for your teeth it is BAD for your digestion. I just use a flouride toothpaste and a flouride rinse.

[Alex Shalman]

Hi Gretchen!

I have come to respectfully disagree with you. I believe that getting enough drinking water should be peoples #1 goal throughout the day. Whenever I drink enough water I feel more energized and I am MUCH more productive -- I can't even explain the difference. The truth is MANY people walk around dehydrated (on some days I am one of them).

My dad was in the same boat as you, he used to always tell me 'drink when you're thirsty, your body knows'. I completely disagree. I could go a full day studying or doing work without noticing the fact that i drank no water and feel the pain of it the next day.

This is something that should be facilitated by habit formation. As Marina Martin mentioned above, if you set up a system where the water is readily available, like putting the bottles out the day before, you encourage yourself to drinking more water.

This is not something that you want to use up that precious motivation on daily. The only way to do that is to set it and forget it by forging the habit. After that you can concentrate on forging a habit in the next thing, and then the next, and then you're all full of positive habits and living a better life before you know it!

[Ann]

Someone touched on this a bit in another comment--I find that I often think I'm hungry when I am really just thirsty. I drink some water and then wait 20 minutes to see if the feeling goes away. If not, I'm hungry (too).

That said, I think a lot of people have the goal to drink more water because they think it will be the magic button to losing weight. And it may be if drinking more water actually means drinking less soda and high-calorie coffee drinks. I even think drinking more water can help some people lose weight for other reasons. But the problem is with looking at water as the ANSWER to weight struggles.

What you've said, Gretchen, is good food for thought. Some people may validly (is that a word?) have drinking more water as a goal. But some people need to think about it again to be sure that's where they want to direct their energy.

[Jayne]

Spot on about water. I read somewhere that it's a myth that our bodies need 8 glasses of water a day. Most people get enough from their food and other beverages, including soft drinks, to keep them hydrated. There are definitely many more worthwhile things people can do for their health and well being.

I still drink a lot of water though (tap water or filtered tap water) and you know what? I can't say I notice any real difference, apart from peeing a lot!

[Kate]

I drink more water than probably anyone else I know, not because I think I "should", but because it makes me feel so much better - more energy, more life, more vitality. I also have fantastic skin - someone told me yesterday they thought I was 20 (I'm 36), which I'm pretty sure has a lot to do with my water intake. However, as with everything, I think people's needs differ - some people need a lot of water, some people don't. If I don't drink enough water (and for me, there is no such thing as enough), I get headachey, lethargic, and just generally feel a bit ill. There are plenty of studies that prove that even a small level of dehydration can affect physical performance - while most of these studies are carried out on athletes, so it's difficult to extrapolate, the inference is clear; that a poorly hydrated body just doesn't perform as well as a well-hydrated one.

What I notice when walking around the streets where I live is that very few people actually look as though they're glowing with health. Clearly water is just one part of that equation, with nutritious food, enough sleep, enough exercise, enough fresh air, and all sorts of other factors thrown in for good measure, but water is just as important as these other elements. I really don't understand why it has to be a big deal, though, any more than eating or breathing or sleeping is - our bodies need water, so we consume it. Why does it have to be such a stress? Why would anyone NOT want to feel the best they possibly could?

As for buying bottled water - if you're outside the home, what else are you supposed to do? No-one suggests you shouldn't buy coffee, or all the horrible soft drinks that people consume, in take-out containers. Water's the same. I buy bottled water when I don't have access to a tap, which in my life is surprisingly often. I don't drink bottled water at home, and if at all possible I will fill a bottle at home and take it with me, but there is a limit to how many litres of water I can carry around per day.

[Thomas]

I drink lots of water because I am doing Hot Yoga and loose about 2 l in every session. Living in Australia the water is still very clean and it is very safe to drink tap water. We also installed a water filter to filter out any nasty stuff that's still in there.

I don't like to buy bottles, first they are expensive and they are bad for the environment. A couple of weeks ago a read an article how much energy goes into producing them. Can't remember the figures but is more than many people think.

[Jirel]

There is much difference with me when I drink many glasses and only few glasses of water. I always like drinking lots of water i.e. as much as I can.
Tap water here is not pure to drink. We drink the tap water after filration only. So, bottled water is always preferable.

[Jen]

I'd echo what a lot of others have said above: I drink water in lieu of most other beverages, and I think it makes my skin look good, and I feel better--and, since I made an effort to drink more water I have fewer migraine episodes. Many of the drinks we consume (coffee, caffeinated sodas) are diuretics, and water can replace that fluid. I don't think that people should stress about water consumption, but I do think that as a population we'd be better off if we chose water over the sodas (yes, even diet), fancy coffee drinks, and so on. Again, as several above pointed out, many times when we think we're hungry, we're actually dehydrated.

Oh, and I agree with the bottled water thing: buy a filter pitcher and "bottle" your own!

[DT]

I used to think that drinking more water made me feel better. Then I realized that I had the causality backwards!

I tend to drink lots of water when I exercise heavily (in my case, usually dancing). Since my dance classes are in the evening, I tend to pound water the next day. That's also when I feel really energetic - but it's the dancing, not the water! I've figured that out from the rare occasions that I've forgotten my nalgene at home (the tap water where I work is terrible).

I prefer my water very cold, so I put NYC tap water in a pitcher and stick it in the fridge.

However, I agree with the posters who sometimes have trouble differentiating between hunger and thirst. So in those cases, drinking more water may be helpful, especially as teaches your brain to better interpret your body's signals.

[adora]

There is no science behind the 8-glasses-a-day myth. We get water from food and our body will alert us when we are thirsty, so there is no need to feel guilty.

I'm actually opposite. I drink way too much water. I got many emails from my concerned friends about some Indian guy getting water intoxication. (lol) Yes, you can indeed die from drinking too much water. (But I think I would have stopped)

The problem about drinking a lot of water is that you will have lower body temperature than everybody else. You will have to bring a sweater everywhere in summer when people blast the AC.

I've always love Lewis Black's comment about our water obsession. It's really funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNGWn-aWn5g

[Mike]

I disagree about water. When I don't drink enough water, I sometimes mistakenly believe I am hungry, but I am really thirsty. Not having enough water can also make me feel tied.

Why not just drink when I am thirsty? Because I don't realize I am thirsty. I feel tied or hungry. Weird but true.

[Jgd]

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