That’s the title of a pretty great short story by Raymond Carver—though, I’m of the opinion that most all Carver’s stories are pretty great. Carver’s story has a decidedly dark bent to it; this post is considerably lighter.

If you’re in the United States, you have good access to clean water. While it’s probably prudent to filter it, it’s drinkable. What a gift! It’s a gift that we tend to take for granted. Many people on our planet aren’t so fortunate.

Today’s post isn’t about addressing the global availability of clean water, but if you want to pursue that, check out water.org. Today’s post is about your own water consumption.

So. How much water do you drink?

If you hang out with me for any length of time, I’m eventually gonna ask you this question. Why?

BECAUSE THE SINGLE BEST THING YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH IS TO INCREASE YOUR WATER CONSUMPTION.

Unless you’re already super hydrated. Or over hydrated. Which is pretty dang rare, but not impossible.

Let’s operate under the premise that you’re like the majority of people: You drink water when you’re thirsty, when you work out or otherwise exert yourself, and when you swallow pills. If you’re a step ahead of that, you may be making a conscious effort to drink water with meals. Even with the extra step, that approach to drinking water is still a recipe for chronic dehydration.

Here’s the deal. Back when we were evolving and growing adept at doing stuff like moving and communicating and avoiding predators and hunting tasty things, we didn’t have the ability to easily transport water. But pretty much all our food had a high water content. When the body needed water, it would send a hunger signal; you’d eat something that contained water, it hydrated you, and you went back to evolving. Today the body still first sends a thirst message as hunger, but you give it a can of Pringles. Due to the suboptimal water content of a Pringle, you don’t get hydrated and, in fact, can still feel hungry after finishing the can.

The bottom line is that the processed food that forms the basis of the average American diet doesn’t contain much water. And even if you’re eating clean, proactively approaching hydration can do some great things for you.

What does good hydration do for you?

I’m so glad you asked! In a word: everything. Our bodies are mostly water. They need water to work right. Getting great hydration will improve your skin, your mood, your thinking, your digestion, your breathing, your temperature regulation, your body’s ability to perform healing processes, the ease with which you achieve the big O, and possibly even your ability to tolerate Christmas carols in October (no promises, though). But seriously, dude, drink some water.

How much water is enough?

I know I’m going to make the engineers and data folks here nuts, but I’m not going to give you a number. The standard advice of eight glasses a day is a good starting point, but if you’re a larger person you should drink more. Plus, a glass isn’t necessarily the same volume as a cup (8oz). When I’m at home, I drink water out of a quart-size mason jar and I shoot for four of those a day. Nearly a gallon. As it turns out, my quart-sized mason jars are actually only 30 ounces, a fact I discovered after I dumped an entirely full one on my laptop. No, that two ounces didn’t make a difference and no, my laptop did not survive.

So my goal is four of those. Sometimes I make it, sometimes I don’t. Some days I drink more. Any day I end up only in the half-gallon range for whatever reason, I really notice. I’m crankier, my eyes and lips are dry, my breathing is harder, and my energy is down.

How can I possibly remember to drink all this water?

Start small. The easiest way to start practicing a new habit is to tack it onto a habit you already have. Most people start the morning with a hot beverage. Whether you’re waiting on your coffee maker, the teakettle, or your barista, make that your cue to drink a glass of water (and maybe even practice some box breathing). Find other existing habits in your day that you can turn into water-drinking cues. I also recommend getting a water accountability buddy to support each other/egg each other on/give each other a hard time as the case may be. Water drinking apps abound. There are smart water bottles that will remind you to drink, or you can do the analog version of adding a rubber band around your water glass each time you drain it.

Hang on. Won’t I be peeing all the time if I do this?

Umm, at first, yeah. But then your body will adapt and it will all level out. Don’t be like my kid, who revealed to me in her third week at her new (full-time) job that she didn’t know where the bathroom was but it didn’t matter because she didn’t have to go. You’re dehydrated. Drink some water. Please.