Do you feel you’re making a lot of lifestyle changes but still feeling like you’ve been run over by a bus? The single biggest difference to my daily well-being has been drinking more water. If I don’t then I feel sluggish, tired, foggy and anxious. I can’t focus properly and start to procrastinate like there’s no tomorrow. I also start to get a darkening of the skin under my eyes.

A few months ago I started getting really dry eyes and a dry mouth, which came with a painful eye stye and the corner of my mouth became dry, sore and cracked. I couldn’t understand it because I was looking after myself well and had reduced my stresses. It wasn’t until I increased my water consumption to an absolute minimum of 1.5 litres daily that I saw a change. The difference was astounding. Water has been the one thing that has made the biggest difference to my day-to-day life but it has to be daily and not a one-off and here’s why.

I always start the day with 2 glasses of room temperature filtered water (I keep a jug by the sink). The reason for room temperature is to aid my digestion. I then carry a 750 ml water bottle with me and sip through the day, making sure I re-fill it twice. You may think you’re drinking enough water but when you analyse it properly are you actually drinking enough? Remember if you drink coffee then you’ll need even more water because coffee is a diuretic.

If you use a plastic bottle then make sure you wash it out daily to remove bacteria, which could put a load on your system. Don’t clean it in the dishwasher because high heat can cause leaching of the plastics. Best to hand wash. Also don’t leave it in a hot car or the sun because of the impact of heat. Ideally you would use a steel or glass bottle but I personally struggle with these because they’re not big enough and can be heavy. I make sure my plastic bottle is BPA fee and keep it out of heat etc.