As a wilderness and mountain hiker, I have always found water very important. By adding such items as lemon or Nestle Infusion is a very good idea. I don't drink any kind of soda any more. Part of the 8 glasses of water people drink is usually found in some of the foods you eat; such as pasta, rice, steak, tomatoes, vegitables, milk, etc. So the myth of 8 glasses is a myth! One glass of water is equal to 8 oz (or one cup)!

Another idea for you to consider is adding cranberry juice to your water. When I prepare to hike in the wilderness, I add one part cranberry juice to three parts water in my 2L bladder (or other storage containers). During a long hike, I find this mix refreshing and rewarding at the same time. You can determine what balance appeals to you the best, but by adding cranberry juice to your water, changes the 'taste' of the water so it not so bland. Moreover by drinking cranberry juice, it helps in controlling the Ph levels in your urane to prevent possible bladder infections. Some doctors usually suggest 1/2 water to 1/2 cranberry juice; or you can just drink a glass of cranberry juice right from the bottle.

Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice is my favorite. They offer many different flavors. Of all the Ocean Spray Juices available on the market, the "Light" Cranberry Juice is my favorite and has the highest % of cranberry concentrate at 27%. All their other blends usually have grape juice or other ingredients. Another benefit, is that the "Light" Cranberry is low in calories too.

If you decide to consider this route, do experiment with different ratios of cranberry juice to water to achieve your 'taste level' of the water you will enjoy drinking. It took me several weeks to finally find my balance and really began to enjoy drink my water. It will feel weird at first, but definitely give it a chance. Over the years, I have modified the ratio so that I now have about one part cranberry juice to eight parts of water and drink it all the time. I usually drink about 2 to 3 cups of water each day. I hope this helps in your effort to wean yourself off of soda!

I have to be honest, I don't get my health information from Snopes.

Americans DO live in a state of almost chronic dehydration. I've seen little children begging for water, and their parents either ignoring them, or giving them juice (which is nothing more than water with SUGAR in it, it's no more healthy than Kool Aid in the long run) or telling them to wait until they get home. Sad.

It also drives me crazy when people guzzle pop and coffee all day long, refuse to have anything to drink with meals, and then wonder why they feel like shit all the time.

I drink about a gallon of water a day. I need it for my less than adequate urinary system, and for my migraines. But, even if I didn't have those problems, keeping hydrated isn't just for athletes.

We do drink only bottled water, as we have a private well. The water comes out of our front yard and has been contaminated in the past, so I have learned to simply not drink tap water. Plus when you drink as much water as I do, you do value the taste. Tap water either tastes like mildew and sulfur (well water) or like Clorox (most treated and municipal water.) I'd like to avoid either mildew or Clorox in my water. So, I'm happy to drink bottled water.

I basically gave up drinking pop and other stuff years ago, except for special occasions. When you get used to the natural taste of what humans were meant to drink (water) you lose your addiction to highly flavored beverages and are happy with plain, unflavored water. I'd say it takes about a week to two weeks to break your flavored beverage addiction.

I find now pop usually is TOO highly flavored, is cloyingly sweet, and it ends up making me thirsty. I also don't drink dairy milk or alcohol, and only once in a while drink unflavored unsweetened iced tea. When you give you body what is is actually asking for, it actually makes you feel better in the long run.

I still think 8 glasses a day is a good base rule. Not written in stone, but a place for most people to start.

Gun, you wake up FIVE times at night to drink water?

Honey, you need to see a doctor. You most likely ARE chronically dehydrated! There is also a rare condition called Diabetes Insipidus. It is not related to insulin caused diabetes, but causes extreme thirst (especially at night) and large amounts of highly diluted urine to be excreted.

If you are waking up this often to drink water, you NEED to drink more water during the day (and less coffee, pop, tea etc) and see a doctor if the night waking continues.

This is a sign of something less than healthy. Please, Gun, make some changes and see a doctor if more day drinking of water doesn't help.

Lol someone beat me to the myth part.

But yeah I rarely drink plain water :S it's mostly juice, milk, tea, and soda (rarely).

Not sure, but pretty a lot.

I drink a lot of coffee and tea, but I make sure that I also drink a glass of water for every drink of coffee or tea, so that I don't dehydrate myself. I also keep a water bottle at my desk and have trained myself to take regular sips from it, because otherwise I forget altogether and give myself headaches.

I actually hate water but am trying to drink more of it to help with my weight loss journey.