My beverage of choice, since basically birth, has been soda. When I got a little older, I switched it up to the diet versions—because I’d much rather eat my calories than drink them! But recently, I’ve been thinking about how I’d also like to limit the amount of sugar substitutes and caffeine I consume.

So, I put myself to a test: I’d put down my diet soda bottle and pick up bottled water instead to see what, if any, benefits I’d see. Here’s what I learned.

No surprise, I peed a lot. I work from home, so no one was around to be aware of my frequent bathroom breaks. And while this was a bit of a hassle at first, I reminded myself that I was doing this for “science.” Turns out, all that urine serves a purpose: it helps balance salts and sugars in the body and flushes out toxins and waste. My kidneys were happy because I was well hydrated—so they didn’t have to work as hard!

During my “Week of Water,” I felt like I had more energy, so I was actually motivated to get out and walk around my neighborhood more. That feeling is backed by science. Turns out, you only need to be 1-2% dehydrated to feel sluggish, and we often wake up in a state of dehydration—having had nothing to drink for the last seven or eight hours and losing water in our sleep through our breath and sweat. So, I grabbed my bottled water from the nightstand first thing in the morning to ensure I replace any water lost.

Once a month, I travel for work, and my water consumption project happened to take place when I had a flight scheduled. But that was a bit of luck because I often get headaches after a flight, so I got to test how hydrating before, during, and after the flight helped (or not).

There’s a reason why I get these headaches: the cabin is dry; humidity in the cabin is usually only around 20%. The Aerospace Medical Association recommends drinking “about 8 ounces of water each hour” of flight time. But, research shows you shouldn’t drink tap water on a plane because airplane water may contain harmful bacteria due to the infrequency with which airlines clean their planes’ water tanks. Pro tip: When traveling, avoid drinking water that doesn’t come from a sealed container (and skip the plane ice too!).

My flight was short—just a little over an hour. I grabbed a bottled water before take-off, sipped it throughout the time in the air, and am happy to report: no headache.

So, am I going back to my diet soda habit? This simple switch has made such a difference that I’m sure I’ll continue to slowly increase how much water I drink. My body is thanking me for taking on this water challenge, and I’m thanking myself for finally giving this a try.

If you’ve been thinking about making the switch to water—just do it. Your future self will definitely thank you.