You Know You Should Drink More Water. Here's Why You're Still Not Doing It

I can't tell you how many times clients come in complaining about headaches, fatigue, or brain fog, and when we dig into it, they're barely drinking any water. It's one of those things everyone knows they should do, but somehow it still falls by the wayside.

Water is literally involved in every single function your body performs, from helping you digest that lunch you just ate to keeping your brain sharp during an afternoon meeting. When you're even mildly dehydrated, everything just works a little bit worse.

You've probably heard the "eight glasses a day" rule, and honestly, it's not a bad baseline. But your actual needs are personal. Some people may need way more because they're training for marathons, and others do fine with less because they eat tons of water-rich foods, like fruit.

Think about your life: do you work out regularly? Live somewhere hot? Spend your days in air-conditioned offices? All of this matters. The best indicator is actually pretty simple: if you're thirsty, drink. And check your urine colour (I know, not glamorous, but effective). Pale yellow means you're doing well. If it's dark yellow or amber? Time to drink.

Lately, everyone seems to be adding electrolyte packets to everything. Are they necessary? Sometimes, yes, but probably not as often as social media would have you believe.

Electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and magnesium help your body actually use the water you drink. They're especially important if you're sweating a lot. Think intense workouts lasting over an hour, or spending time in high heat. If you've ever chugged water after a hard workout and still felt thirsty and kind of off, that's often an electrolyte imbalance.

For most people doing moderate exercise or just going about their day, you're getting enough electrolytes from food. But if you're someone who exercises intensely or feels perpetually thirsty no matter how much you drink, adding a pinch of good quality sea salt to your water or eating more electrolyte-rich foods (bananas, leafy greens, avocados) can make a difference.

Rather than give you a boring checklist, here's what actually works in real life: keep a water bottle with you that you actually like using. Seriously, if you hate your water bottle, you won't drink from it. I also tell clients to link water drinking to things they already do, like have a glass when you wake up, one with each meal, one mid-afternoon. It becomes automatic at some point. And if plain water bores you, add some cucumber, lemon, or frozen berries.

The bottom line is that your body is roughly 60% water, and every cell depends on it. You don't need to obsess over it, but paying attention to your hydration is one of the simplest things you can do for your health.