There are many different myths about your body that everyone has heard from time to time. Not surprisingly, many common myths about your body come from parents to prevent their children from doing certain things. Today, we will explore some of these myths.
Sugar highs
Many people believe that eating sugar makes one hyper; especially when you’re a kid. But science has disproven this. For example, science has proven that certain sugary foods release serotonin in one’s body, which has a calming effect. Sorry, Mom! Bring on the sugar!
Most body heat is lost through your head.
We’ve all had a parent tell us to put on our toques because it’s going to be cold outside and most heat is lost through our heads, right? Wrong. This myth came about because it was thought that if one’s head is not covered, it tends to be colder up there than the rest of your body, which is usually covered. Your head actually loses the same amount of heat at the same rate as the rest of your body.
Cracking your knuckles will result in arthritis
A 2011 study proved that cracking knuckles has nothing to do with getting osteoarthritis. This is good, because many kids crack their knuckles anyway.
We need eight glasses of water a day
Actually, the amount of water needed varies from person to person. For example, a schoolchild sitting at his desk all day needs less water than a professional athlete who exercises much more often. The average person needs about a liter of water daily, or four glasses.
We only use 10% of our brains
No excuse for not getting a good grade on a test, because we actually use 100% of our brains, even though not all of it is being used at once. Still, it would be impossible to function if we were only using 10% of our brains at once.
Reading in the dark will make you shortsighted
There has been no study proving this; this myth was likely made up by parents wanting lights-out at night so that their children may go to sleep. Hah! I needed to prove this one wrong. Now no one can tell me to stop reading in the dark, because I need to finish a book once I start it. Go, night-vision!
Sitting too close to the TV makes you shortsighted
Contrary to popular belief, children’s eyes focus incredibly well. So, when you see a young person holding a book close to his eyes or sitting too close to the TV screen, it is perfectly natural for them to do so. Also, a study has been done on this, and it has been proven that there is no link between sitting too close to the TV and shortsightedness.
So there! I have proven that my night-reading marathons do nothing bad for my eyes. As a matter of fact, all they do is improve my intelligence, because isn’t that the whole point of reading? How many of these myths did you believe? I know, personally, that I believed most of these to be true. I must go now, for it is time to continue reading my book… in the dark! Adieu!
