The majority of people I have encountered think that drinking one 16.9 ounce bottle of water a day is enough to keep them properly hydrated. Those people are probably going to die soon because this is absolutely not true. Most likely, not even with the fluids you drink along with meals are incorporated into that number.

The human body is approximately 70 percent water, and it's estimated that 75 percent of the American population suffers from chronic dehydration and doesn't even realize it. Come on, guys. We focus so much on getting everything done for everyone else and being valued in today's society, but we can't even keep ourselves hydrated? I won't even get into the other basic needs that we push to the back burner. We're awful at taking care of ourselves. Drinking more water is just a baby step in the right direction.

With the hot weather creeping in, water consumption becomes increasingly more important. It's hot as you-know-what, and sweating even slightly expels water from the body which means more is needed. Tyra Banks once suggested dividing your weight in half and that is how many ounces of water you should actually be drinking. However, the National Institute of Health suggests drinking between 75 and 150 ounces of water a day, more if you are active or sweat a lot. I gag thinking about drinking that much water a day. It takes dedication before it becomes a habit, but the positives far outweigh the slight discomfort that may come from striving to drink more.

You might think, "Oh well, I've made it this far. Why do I need to focus so much on getting enough water?" For the most part, you probably feel fine, right? But you're always tired, or you find it hard to focus? Maybe you don't feel like eating as much, or the opposite -- you can't stop? It's also possible that you know you feel generally awful but you have no clue what is wrong with you. The problem is, all the seemingly small symptoms that most of us experience on a daily basis could probably be cured by drinking more water. And when I say seemingly small, I mean they are actually huge signs that your body is breaking down.

Chronic dehydration can cause myriad medical conditions, and each day you deprive your body of water, you kill cells that would have otherwise been healthy. I'm sure you know what your blood does, but without water, it isn't able to deliver enough oxygen to your cells, nonetheless the essential vitamins. Your brain, for example, is over 80 percent water. It's mush. Without water it sits in your head wilting like a sad, dying flower. Your skin loses its glow and starts to flake off, your kidneys start to ache and suddenly you bloat because you're failing to dilute all the sodium you put into your body. Dehydration is linked to depression, arthritis, and even cancer, and those are just a few.

The point of this entire spiel was to get you to drink water. Just drink, please. Go ahead and deprive yourself of sleep, overuse your hand sanitizer, ignore broccoli's existence, whatever. Those are different steps for another time. Just take care of your health today by drinking a ton of water.