Starting right away with our first myth,
Drink Eight Glasses of Water a Day!
I suppose this is the most popular one! Looking for its origin scientists traced its roots to a single paragraph in a 1945 Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council report in the US, stating adults should consume nearly 2.5 litres of water every day, equivalent to eight glasses of water. However, most of our water requirement is fulfilled by the food we intake itself.
The fact is according to WHO’s recommendation, the amount of water needed by the body varies according to different physiological and demographic factors such as age, sex, location, climate, activity levels, and more.
We only use around 10% of our brains.
Originating way back from the year 1907 when an article by William James states that humans use only a part of their brain and further popularised by Hollywood is just a myth. According to scientists majority of our brain is always active and usage varies from person to person and tasks which an individual might be doing.
Fun fact: About 65 percent of Americans believe that we only use 10% of our brain.
Your body gets used to getting less sleep with time!
This one can really take a toll on your health even if done for the short term. Research shows that your brain and body just can’t get used to less sleep, persistent sleep deprivation negatively impacts daytime performance, memory, focus further harming decision-making and creativity. Scant sleep can wreak havoc on diverse aspects of health including metabolism, the cardiovascular system, the immune system and mental health.
Even if it seems like you are customary to sleeping less, more serious health problems may be accumulating because of the body’s inability to get the rest it needs.
Here’s the bonus one…
No pain, No gain.
This dim-witted rhyme has done more harm than good. Pain is your body’s way of telling you to stop a dangerous activity. Always avoid serious discomfort or strain when exercising.
Peace out!
