H2O and the Daily Goal

So I've been suffering from a severe headache for the best part of a week now. I've been short and irritable with the people around me, and generally brought the mood in the house down several notches. According to quite a few web searches one of the main causes may be my hydration levels. I'm not what you'd call a water drinker. Even in the height of summer, I am guilty of reaching for a Diet Coke or iced coffee. I've never really given much consideration to how this is effecting me. Whether those preconditioned to reach for the Evian are receiving noticable benefits from this habit, I'll admit it shouldn't take a six day migraine to make me consider improving my water intake. There's numerous articles in fashion and lifestyle magazines professing it will give you clear skin and sparkly eyes but what about other effects?

According to everybody's favourite online scaremonger, the effects of dehydration are as follows.

Signs of mild or moderate dehydration include:

Okay so a few things on that list jump out at me straight away, mostly because they are symptoms also aligned with anxiety and depression. Increased heart rate, lack of energy, confusion and irritability are all things I connect with how I feel during low and anxious periods. What if that assumption has made me overlook a simple cause, and as a result, solution to some of my negative emotional periods? What if by just drinking more water it will ease some of the symptoms that contribute to my issues?

Obviously, I have already admitted I am at probably the worst end of the spectrum when it comes to staying hydrated. As such this small change may just make quite a big difference to my day to day feeling of well being.

The NHS recommendations six to eight glasses of water a day, and despite some rumblings around 2010/2011, that has held firm for as long as I can remember; I have definitely not been reaching that target. And then factor all the things I'm putting into my body that are having a negative impact on my hydration levels, and to see a measurable effect it I'll need to implement a major change.

According to nearly everything I’ve read, caffeine is a major dehydration culprit and I have been using it a daily crutch for a while now. I’m not just talking a morning boost, we’re talking a good three to five cups a day. Add to that the almost daily glass of wine (sometimes two) with dinner, and that’s a lot of fluid that’s not doing what you think fluids do, the exact opposite in fact. So I think the best way forward is to throw myself into this properly. I’m aiming for long term lifestyle adjustment here, so I will not be giving up my weekend adult beverages, but the weekday wine has got to go and the coffee consumption reigned right in.

From here on out, every evening, I will be filling a two liter bottle with water to be placed in the fridge, to be consumed by the end of the following day. No weekday wine, or any alcohol, Sunday to Thursday. No more gallons of coffee every day, I can’t imagine it’s helping my anxiety either. In fact, no caffeine before 10 AM or after 5 PM.

I can feel my headache easing already ;-)