It’s not easy, having a body. It’s basically an entire ecosystem that you’ve been put in charge of without ever applying for the job. And now you have to water it every day. Not just a little bit, but all the time. One glass of water and then another and another… and on it goes. Just constantly guzzling liquid as if your life depends on it (which it does).
But how much water is actually enough? Expert recommendations vary, putting it somewhere between two to three liters, or eight glasses per day, depending on your size, the climate, and general activity levels (a marathon runner is going to need more water than somebody—for example, me—who sits at their laptop all day). And water doesn’t just keep you alive in a vague sort of way. It regulates your temperature, improves brain function, and helps with skin health. It delivers essential nutrients to your cells and removes harmful toxins and waste. Yes, water really is that girl.
Though most of us know this, a lot of us don’t keep track of exactly how much we’re drinking. It can feel boring drinking water when we could simply mainline a Diet Coke, and who has the time to be constantly getting up to use the bathroom yet again when there are deadlines to meet, and texts to reply to. But are we missing a trick? Could our lives be transformed if we just stuck to the guidelines and upped our water intake? There was only one way to find out. I decided to drink 2.5 liters of water a day for a week to see if it made any difference to my body, mind, and soul at all.
Days one to three
You’d think it would be easy: just drink water. All you have to do is gulp and then refill your glass. And for the first liter of the day, it’s fine. It’s after the second liter that things get tricky. Every time I move, I sound like a hot water bottle being vigorously shaken, and I don’t even want any tasty little treats because I’m too full of water. Oh, and I’m leaving my desk to use the bathroom every 20 to 30 minutes. “Are you okay?” someone asks, as I march through the office yet again. “Fine!” I reply in a clipped voice because I can’t concentrate on anything other than getting to the bathroom. There’s no time to chat. Drinking water is now my full-time job. This goes on for three days.
Days three to five
Okay, so this is when I actually start to see some improvements. For the longest time, I’ve tended to experience a dip in energy at around 2 pm that lasts until the early evening. I thought this had something to do with circadian rhythms, or just how I’m built, but during this experiment, I noticed that my usual midday dip never arrives. In fact, I’m generally a lot more awake and focused throughout the day. Not in an over-the-top wired way, either—like when you drink a lot of caffeine. It’s more that my thoughts are able to arrange themselves perfectly without tiring me out. I’m more productive and definitely less sluggish.
It also gets easier to drink the 2.5 liters. This is probably less because I’ve gotten used to it, and more because I go to the gym a few times on days three to five, so I physically need more water. As someone who is… the same height as Lady Gaga, I probably don’t need to be drinking so much water on the days that I’m sat in an office with the AC blasting. Drinking too much water can also be dangerous, leading to something called water toxicity. So yeah, take it easy on the ol’ see-through liquid if you feel fully hydrated. But 2.5 liters was fine for me if I’d been very active.
Days five to seven
When I stare in the mirror after a week of this, I’m pretty sure my face looks brighter. Not in a really drastic way—this isn’t The Substance. Just in the sense that my face looks like it does when I’m having a “good face day.” Unnoticeable to others, but marginally more dewy to my own eyes. I’m also still experiencing sustained mental clarity and a lack of sluggishness. In fact, since I’ve started drinking my 2.5 liters, I haven’t felt tired until my actual bedtime. Even during the few days before my period, which is when I usually turn into that DW with tired eyes meme, I feel just fine.
Now for the result: drinking 2.5 liters a day hasn’t completely transformed my life in such a way that I’m going to throw out all my skincare products and quit my job to do touring seminars on water drinking. But the benefits are positive and noticeable enough that I’m going to continue drinking the same amount long after this experiment. The constant getting up to use the bathroom is a bit annoying, but it’s a small price to pay for feeling like a well-oiled machine in human form. I had no idea I was a rusty old machine beforehand, but we live and we (hopefully) learn.