Busted – 5 Common Myths about Human Biology

Education plays a major role in puncturing the misinformation. That means spotting, correcting and providing the authentic information to everyone. At present there are a number of myths all around the world. Fortunately, we are here to not only find some of the myths, but also correct them in the presence of science.

So here are Five popular myths that need to be punctured.

1. Sitting too close to the TV screen can damage your eyes

There is no evidence that looking at a TV screen can cause any type of eye problems, similarly with computer screen and mobile screen. Constant screen watch can cause eye strain, not eye problem.

According to American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), “sitting too close to a TV will not damage your eyes-but it may cause eye strain.” AAO also explains in the report that “children can focus at close distance without eye strain better than adults.” 

2. Tilt your head back when you get a nosebleed

That’s another common and most popular myth between us which can prove to be more dangerous.

Dr. Bjorn Herman, an otolaryngologist- University of Miami Health System and American Academy of Otolaryngology said, “stay calm, keep your head upright then lean slightly forward and gently blow your nose to clear out blood clots, put bag of ice to the nose while maintaining pressure and Don’t tilt back your head, which causes blood to drip down into the throat and airway.” 

According to Dr. Bill Sukala Ph.d clinical exercise physiologist, Sydney Australia, “It might feel intuitively right to tilt your head back to stop a nosebleed, but actually you should sit up straight and tilt your head slightly forward.”

Note: If you bleed more than 20-30mint continue, you should seek medical attention.

3. Cold weather can make you sick/Don’t go outside with wet hair, you might catch cold

Definitely not, there is no link between sickness and cold weather.

A research the American Society for Microbiology, “Rhinoviruses ( viruses that cause the common cold) replicate more efficiently at lower temperatures.”

Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease physician at Toronto General Hospital, found that “there are viruses circulating around all the time of the year, in the winter and summer months. But in the winter, we tend to be more sedentary; we are usually indoor and closely packed together compared to other times.”

Thus you will catch cold because of a virus, not because of the weather conditions.

4. Shaving makes hair grow faster and thicker

According to Dr.Michele Green MD Cosmetic dermatologist, “shaving doesn’t affect the hair follicle, which controls the growth of the hair. So shaving does not make hair grow faster or thicker.”

Also a 1970 study in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology confirmed that Shaving does not alter “the width or rate of growth of individual hairs.”

Believe us, this is baseless and the most popular myth all around the world. Till now no study could find any effect of shaving hair in respect of hair growth rates. 

5. We only use 10% percent of our brain

A survey Michael J Fox, foundation for Parkinson’s Research(2013), found that 65% of American believe that they use only 10% of brain or brainpower in their whole life. What about India? Almost every Indian believes in this myth. What do experts of Neuroanatomy say on this myth?

According to Professor Stough, there’s “No truth” to the 10 per cent claim. But the brain does have some redundancy in it. We are still understanding how the brain works and how we learn, as well as the plasticity of the brain.

A neurologist Dr. Chudler says the claim is simply a myth and nothing, everyone uses almost every part of the brain in their life.

Professor Bush says “the idea that we can tap into a dormant 90 per cent is “hogwash”. Basically, we can say that we use almost 100 per cent of our brain even in daily life. It is totally bogus. We actually use every part of our brain even most of it is active almost all of the time.”