MOM REALLY DOES KNOW BEST 3 Wives’ Tales Proven True
HEARTBURN MEANS A HAIRY BABY It’s hard to list wives’ tales without bringing up one about pregnancy. Many are solely based on intuition, but a few that sound odd are legitimate. In 2007, a study done by Johns Hopkins attempted to debunk the myth that heartburn during pregnancy would mean a hairy baby at birth. Instead of proving it wrong, they found that 82 percent of women with severe heartburn during pregnancy gave birth to hairy babies. Turns out the hormones that cause heartburn in pregnant women also affect fetal hair growth. JOINT PAIN PREDICTS THE WEATHER Did you ever look at your mom with skepticism when she would predict rain because her knees hurt? If so, you might owe your mom an apology, because there is a scientific connection. The drop in barometric pressure that’s common during storm weather causes pain in arthritic joints.
“Make a face like that, and it’ll stay that way forever.” You may have heard something like this from Mom’s book of wisdom. Maybe you never disputed the idea that mother knows best. But as you grew up, it slowly became clear that hair doesn’t grow back faster and thicker if you shave it, cracking your knuckles doesn’t cause arthritis, and gum doesn’t stay in your stomach for months after you swallow it. After a whirlwind of
proved to hold weight. Here are three wives’ tales that have proven to be true.
GARLIC CURES COLDS For decades, moms have professed the healing properties of garlic, suggesting it can cure colds and help the body fight sickness. It turns out they were absolutely right. Garlic has antiviral properties that strengthen the immune system and nutrients that help combat illnesses. The effects of garlic can actually be more effective than over-the-counter flu medications. Some studies show that regular consumption of raw garlic lessens the likelihood of getting a cold, so if you feel a tickle
wives’ tales over the years, many common claims have been put under scrutiny. Wives’ tales have been known as pseudoscience and blind intuition, but even as many were disproved, some surprisingly
in your throat, try a clove before you open the medicine cabinet.
YOU CAN SEE WITH YOUR MIND’S EYE How Your Brain Helps You See
Imagine the table you eat at each day. For most people, it’s the one in the kitchen or the dining room. Form a mental picture of it. How big is it? How many people can sit around it comfortably? How does it feel when you touch it? What color is it? If you are able to visualize your kitchen table, you are taking part in a quasi-perceptual experience known as mental imagery. It resembles a perceptual awareness but occurs in the absence of the appropriate external stimuli. Essentially, instead of actually beholding the object in front of you, you are using memory rehearsal and imploring all of your senses to help you construct the object’s image in your brain — even though you can see your table when you close your eyes, you can’t hold out your hands and touch it.
completing it in real-life. For example, if we sit down at our kitchen table for breakfast, our brain reacts the same way it would if we merely imagined that we were doing so. Because mental imagery is so powerful, students and athletes have been trained to use it to maximize their performance. If they have a big presentation to give in front of the class that is worth 40 percent of their grade, they could spend 15 minutes a day during the week leading up to the due date imagining their presentation going smoothly. If they have a big game coming up and are nervous about their shooting percentage, they could spend time picturing the basketball leaving their hands for a “nothing but net” 3-pointer.
Over the years, coaches and teachers have taken humans’ ability to effectively use their mind’s eye and have used it to promote personal success or growth. The idea is based on research that shows that completing a task in our mind activates the same neural networks as if we were
If you have an upcoming task or event that is stirring up some nervous feelings, perhaps you should try your hand at mental imagery. You might find that it not only assuages some of your fear, but it actually helps you perform better.
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