Let me answer that question with some age-old wisdom.  My parents told me the only things you HAVE to do in life is pay taxes and die (and of course, listen to my parents).  Nowhere in that statement did they mention anything about drinking 8 glasses of water a day.

Life Before 8 Glasses of Water Daily

I lived many years without drinking 8 glasses of water a day and thought everything was just fine.  I was in good health, didn’t get sick often, and made regular trips to the bathroom (I thought).  Then I decided to up my water consumption.  This came right around the time when I started to exercise my option to make healthier choices.

What I Discovered

1. I made more frequent trips to the bathroom (at least initially).
2. My other trips to the bathroom (you know what I’m talking about) were much more er, hmm, how I say it…productive.
3. I didn’t get headaches anymore
4. My skin…well, I’d love to say that my skin looked better, but I really didn’t notice a difference.
5. I started to crave water instead of soft drinks

Back to the original question, do you really have to drink 8 glasses of water a day?  It’s up to you.  Me and my family, we choose to drink the equivalent of ½ of our body weight in ounces.  If half the body weight in ounces seems like a lot, maybe it’s time to lose weight to reduce the water requirement.

Solution to Every Problem

Whenever anyone in the house has a headache, stomachache or is tired, the first solution to every problem is…How much water did you have today?  It’s at the point that when my kids’ friends complain about headaches; my children tell them to drink a glass of water.  Their friends grudgingly admit that the glass of water actually works (I don’t recommend water alone for hangover headaches, but for the common every day, body-beginning-to-dehydrate type of headache, it works wonders).

As far as whether or not you need to drink 8 glasses of water a day, the choice is yours.  It doesn’t fall under the taxes or death category (or parental obedience) so you have a choice.