Anytime I run across one of those list articles like "8 Habits of Healthy People", I know water is going to be discussed.

Specifically, getting enough water per day.

I remember being water obsessed for a short time when I was in my late 20's.

I was volunteering at a clothes store in Melbourne, Australia and in our break room we had one of those cold water dispensers.

I would quickly drink a glass of water whenever I had the chance.

Most mornings I would start my day with coffee, but make sure I followed it with 2-3 glasses of water.

This was an issue if I didn't time it out properly.

In the mornings I'd open the store alone and the first salesperson wouldn't arrive until about 2 hours later.

If I had to pee?

I couldn't just run to the bathroom and leave the front of the store unattended.

The clothes were expensive and I was just asking for them to get stolen.

Even worse was every once in a while a salesperson would call in sick... this meant the next person wouldn't arrive until about 4 hours later.

When you really have to pee, you just do everything in your power to not think about water.

If I ever had bladder issues in the future, I will tie it back to this time period.

I tortured my bladder at least a dozen times during this short period of time when I was water obsessed.

I'm sure my bladder has stretch marks!

The dumb thing is about how unnecessary all of this was.

There isn't a benefit to being over-hydrated.

Also...

Coffee hydrates just as well as water.

A study covers this titled:

No evidence of dehydration with moderate daily coffee intake: a counterbalanced cross-over study in a free-living population.

In separate three-day trials, each group drank either four 200ml cups of coffee or the same amount of water.

"These data suggest that coffee, when consumed in moderation by caffeine habituated males provides similar hydrating qualities to water."

So coffee counts towards your water intake (as does tea).

Do you really need 8 cups of water per day?

Not really.

The best advice is to drink when you are thirsty...

...which is covered in this study:

Body fluid changes, thirst and drinking in man during free access to water.

"The results indicate that during free access to water humans become thirsty and drink before body fluid deficits develop."

Most people drink before they become dehydrated.

If you are already drinking other beverages like coffee or tea and are not terribly thirsty?

No need to torture your bladder!

Just drink a natural amount of water during the day.

P.S.

I think a good phrase for this is "water guilt".

We feel guilty for not drinking enough water... and there is no reason for it.

If you love drinking tons of water, that is fine as well.

Also...

You shouldn't feel guilty about enjoying your morning coffee.

Turns out coffee has some solid health benefits.