We all like to think that we’re perfectly in control of our own lives and that myths and old wives’ tales can’t fool us. Sometimes, though, we all fall prey to common misconceptions. This article takes a look at five enduring old wives’ tales that affect our personal habits – any of them sound familiar?
Gum takes 7 years to digest
When you were young, you were probably told repeatedly by parents and friends that you shouldn’t swallow chewing gum because it takes seven years to digest. This isn’t actually true. It’s certainly true that chewing gum is not digestible by the human body, but it still passes through your system in the standard time – it might not be much changed when it comes out the other end, but it’s certainly not going to be stuck in your stomach for years to come.
Having a bath wastes energy
Bathrooms are the source of many of our most enduring personal habits, and so it’s no wonder a couple of myths have sprung up around them. They say that the best lies are based in the truth, and this is arguably the case with the common belief that baths use more energy than showers. This is often the case – but really, it all depends on the shower. Some Bathroom Suites come with fancy power showers, which can use up to twice as much energy and water compared to a bath, as highlighted by a recent Unilever study reported by the BBC. So, if you do want to save energy by using a shower, be careful about how long you spend in there.
The cold gives you a cold
We’re all told to wrap up warm in winter – and for good reason. You can catch quite a few illnesses as a result of the cold but, contrary to what many believe, this doesn’t include the common cold. Cases of colds do go up in winter, but this is largely because of the way we interact with each other; we’re more likely to huddle together for warmth, which makes it easier for germs to spread. So by all means wrap up warm, but if you are cold you don’t need to worry too much about catching one.
Cheese gives you nightmares
This is another one of those myths your parents probably told you: cheese gives you nightmares, so don’t eat it before bed. In actual fact, while cheese can make you more likely to remember your dreams in the morning (as well as encouraging you to have vivid dreams), there’s no evidence to say that these dreams will be nightmares. This is backed up by a study carried out by the British Cheese Board.
Your head loses the most heat
Many people believe that we lose most of our heat through our heads, when really our heads are no different to the rest of our bodies: we lose the most heat through any uncovered area of skin. The ‘losing heat through your head’ myth seems to have started in the 1960s, when the US Army did an experiment on how we lose our body heat. They wrapped up their participants in survival gear – but forgot to give them hats, so their results were naturally skewed.
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