One simple diet change got rid of my headaches

“I don’t like or believe in water. I won’t have it. I’ve never knowingly had water, I don’t like it.”

Those are the words of Claudia Winkleman when she appeared on the Off Menu podcast a few years ago. She went on to explain how her husband drinking vast amounts of water was ‘problematic’ and that not only is she ‘never thirsty’ but she simply doesn’t like the taste of it.

She was being slightly tongue-in-cheek, maybe, but as someone who has always struggled to drink the recommended amount I understood where she was coming from.

That said, unlike many health and well-being fads, water really is quite important. Never mind your matcha lattes, jade rollers and personalised health tracking apps, drinking enough water is vital.

Staying hydrated is a key part of maintaining crucial bodily functions including waste removal, temperature regulation, joint and tissue protection and bloodstream health. And not drinking enough can result in headaches, dry skin, light-headedness and tiredness.

However, a recent survey suggests three-quarters of British people drink under a litre of water a day — less than half the NHS’s daily intake recommendation.

What’s more, 7% of respondents claimed they were not drinking any water, despite the NHS advising an average of 6 to 8 cups or glasses of fluid a day (about two litres), depending on your temperature and activity level (some people need to drink more water, including athletes, those living in humid environments and those who are pregnant or breastfeeding).

I can say that despite prioritising my health over the last six months by cutting out alcohol, reducing time spent on my phone and exercising more, I haven’t quite cracked it when it comes to water.

I don’t have a routine for it and will regularly opt to make a cup of coffee or tea over a large glass of water. I know it’s not particularly healthy, and consuming lots of caffeine has its own downsides, but trying to drink the recommended amount of water a day has always felt like a chore.

I do drink water every day, but with very little consistency. I veer between drinking several litres of water a day when exercising or being more active to barely touching it, which I suspect has contributed to fatigue, light-headedness and poor focus.

But having undertaken something of a health audit this past summer, and realising that I have been spending a disproportionate amount of my adult life dehydrated, now seemed like the right time to tackle it head on.

Other than it being a very necessary habit, drinking the recommended amount of water regularly can offer further benefits including better concentration and mood, as well as relieving headaches and stress.

Personally, I wanted to see if it would help me better manage my energy, especially during afternoon dips, but also if it would enhance my performance at the gym and during exercise.

According to the NHS, adults are recommended to drink 6-8 cups or glasses of fluid a day. This includes water, lower-fat milk and sugar-free drinks, including tea and coffee.

A quick search online though and their advice varies, some say men should be aiming for 3.7 litres of water, while women should be drinking 2.7 litres. Your body is losing water throughout the day due to normal functions, so you need to be topping up your fluid supply.

In addition, other sources suggest that while juice and tea can contribute to your daily intake, drinking water is more beneficial in terms of overall hydration. This, in part, is because caffeine does have a diuretic effect which means we can lose water from the body and become dehydrated.

While the amount of water in the human body varies depending on age, weight and gender, the average adult man is about 60% water, while adult women are around 55%. From this it’s clear that it really should be a priority to keep yourself hydrated given how crucial it is to functions.

Water helps increase the production of saliva which keeps your mouth clean, it also helps to flush waste from the body, which in turn makes it easy to go to the toilet. It is also full of essential nutrients and minerals which aid overall health, and helps lubricate your joints making them better able to absorb shock better.

Having read up on ways to make drinking water more of a routine I decided I was going to set a daily goal for a month. I landed on a minimum of two litres a day and more whilst exercising or out on jobs that involved a lot of walking.

I particularly wanted to see if drinking more water would help keep headaches at bay and increase my energy – especially in the afternoon and during gym sessions.

I invested in an obnoxiously-sized water bottle, not only larger than my head but complete with time stamps and inspirational messages.

At 7am the bottle would wish me ‘good morning’, while at 11am when I would usually grab a coffee it told me to ‘remember my goals’ and at 5pm I was reminded that there were ‘no excuses’ for me not getting through the two litres. I was concerned I’d taken the wellness challenge a little too far this time.

Ignoring my internal voice which told me this was perhaps a step too far, I also cut down on fizzy drinks and tried to cap the number of teas and coffees I had throughout the day. Over the course of a month I tracked my intake, including days I didn’t hit the two litre mark, and also noted down how many days I had headaches and if there was an obvious correlation.

The first week did not go well. Out of the seven days, three were sub-par and I only drank around one litre of water, which I tried to convince myself was due to being too busy and on the go. I do run around a lot for work, but I was slightly embarrassed by the size of the bottle so kept conveniently forgetting it.

But as the second week crept into view I resolved to be more disciplined and decided that when working from home I would use the motivational bottle, and at the office or out-and-about I would use the slightly more subtle Chilly’s bottle which is around 500ml and needed topping up throughout the day.

From here, I started to make progress, and noticed a few changes. As I’d observed when cutting out alcohol, a sense of achievement comes into play as you start to get into a pattern, and you prove to yourself that you can stick to something. So while the headaches started to abate due to better hydration, and I felt more energised and focused, I also felt more positive about myself for creating a habit.

Drinking throughout the day meant I was also more energised for walks in the evening and gym sessions. During long cardio workouts I definitely had better endurance than on those first few days when I hadn’t drunk enough prior to the session.

It would be hard to say if being better hydrated improved my sleep or quality of my skin as I have also stopped drinking and reduced the time spent on my phone, but both these have improved vastly over the last few months.

By the third and fourth week it very much felt like a habit and I was drinking well over the two litre quota I had set myself. As well as finishing the large bottle every day, I would sometimes have a sparkling water for lunch or when out, and I’d mix things up by adding cordial – just to make it a little less boring.

All in all it’s been quite an eye-opening experience. It’s made me think a lot about routine and habits, but also how poorly hydrated I was before. I still have days when I’m tired or lacking focus, but sticking to a routine and making sure I drink enough has helped – alongside not drinking – to reach a better place of wellbeing.