“The weekend is for catching up on your Zzz's”—& Other Sleep Myths

Artist extraordinaire James Grasdal is putting the finishing touches on the 13^th book in the Superman Duffy comic series—MYTHCONCEPTIONS. Which, you may have guessed has a little something to do with common “myths.” I love myths! So for this year’s A to Z Blogging Challenge, I’m going to “bust” as many of them as I can—every day (except Sundays) on the blog, throughout April.

Not familiar with the A to Z Challenge? Get the details here, and then hang on, because I’m about to blow your mind with my myth-inspired posts.  P.S. Comment on the blogs throughout the month for a chance to WIN a complete set of the SupermanDuffy comics, including lucky #13, MYTHCONCEPTIONS.

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MYTH: The weekend is for catching up on your Zzz's.

Whew! We did it—the END of the 2016 #AtoZchallenge. I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted. And since today is Saturday, I plan to use the rest of the weekend to catch up on my sleep.

Or not.

The whole idea that you can “bank” sleep hours for the weekend is actually a myth. If you’ve had a busy week (or month!), a common misconception is that you can catch up on any hours you missed by sleeping in on the weekend. Studies show that this isn’t enough to restore you for the week ahead. And in fact, if you get too little sleep during the week and sleep away your Saturday (for instance), you could be accumulating a chronic sleep debt. That doesn’t sound good to me!

So how much sleep should you get? It depends. Research shows that teenagers really do need an extra couple of hours, they’re not just “lazy” like my dad always suggests. And no matter what my grandpa claims, you can’t get by on only four hours of Zzz's—at least not long term. Watching TV doesn’t help you sleep. Neither does counting sheep, by the way.

So many myths—and that’s just scraping the surface. A simple Google search netted more than 50 sleep misconceptions. I’d list them all but * yawn * I’m heading back to bed. Binge sleeping may not be healthy, but according to some scientists, an afternoon nap is absolutely fine.

And there we have it—my final blog in the #AtoZChallenge. What a month it’s been! I’ll be back next week with my regular Friday post, but if you haven’t already, take a peek through my #AtoZChallenge archives. And feel free to comment on past posts—you never know, you might be the winner of a set of Superman Duffy comics. A random winner will be chosen on Monday!

Thanks again for sticking with me this month. I’ve gotta jet, but I’ll see you next week!

~ Chase Superman Duffy

“Sharks prefer chomping on yellow things”—& Other Colour Myths

Artist extraordinaire James Grasdal is putting the finishing touches on the 13^th book in the Superman Duffy comic series—MYTHCONCEPTIONS. Which, you may have guessed has a little something to do with common “myths.” I love myths! So for this year’s A to Z Blogging Challenge, I’m going to “bust” as many of them as I can—every day (except Sundays) on the blog, throughout April.

Not familiar with the A to Z Challenge? Get the details here, and then hang on, because I’m about to blow your mind with my myth-inspired posts.  P.S. Comment on the blogs throughout the month for a chance to WIN a complete set of the SupermanDuffy comics, including lucky #13, MYTHCONCEPTIONS.

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MYTH: Sharks prefer chomping on yellow things.

Let’s think about this for a second. If this myth were true, there would be no yellow surf boards. No yellow bathing suits. Yellow fish would be extinct in the ocean. Right? RIGHT?!

E-r-m. Turns out, sharks are slightly more attracted to high-contrast colours such as orange and YELLOW. The famous “Mythbusters” guys even did a show on this phenomenon!

I guess I get it. I mean, what’s not to like? Yellow is, after all, the colour of canola when it’s in full bloom. One of my favourite things about summer is driving (or running) alongside blooming canola fields.

Even though this myth is KIND of true, here are some UNTRUE myths that people actually believe about colour:

·      Yellow causes babies to cry.

·      Blue should never be used in a kitchen or around food.

·      Pink is for girls.

·      Red makes you hungry.

I think today I’ll wear my pink shirt to school and store my lunch in a blue Tupperware container. Take THAT, colour myths. But if we go on vacation this year, I’m leaving my yellow swim trunks at home…just to be safe. <grin>

Gotta jet, but I really hope you come back tomorrow for my LAST post of the 2016 #AtoZChallenge. Whew. Can you BELIEVE it? What a great month! Thanks for sticking through it with me.

~ Chase Superman Duffy

#AtoZChallenge: Busting Myths the Xerces Society Would Be Proud Of!

Artist extraordinaire James Grasdal is putting the finishing touches on the 13^th book in the Superman Duffy comic series—MYTHCONCEPTIONS. Which, you may have guessed has a little something to do with common “myths.” I love myths! So for this year’s A to Z Blogging Challenge, I’m going to “bust” as many of them as I can—every day (except Sundays) on the blog, throughout April.

Not familiar with the A to Z Challenge? Get the detailshere, and then hang on, because I’m about to blow your mind with my myth-inspired posts.  P.S. Comment on the blogs throughout the month for a chance to WIN a complete set of the SupermanDuffy comics, including lucky #13, MYTHCONCEPTIONS.

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“X” is HARD. I mean, there’s aren’t very many “X” words to begin with, and then trying to find myths about those words…impossible! Almost.

I was sitting at the kitchen table brainstorming for this post when my sister dumped a glass of milk across my notebook. I stood up, put my hands on my hips and yelled, “Amelia Xerces Duffy!” (That’s really her middle name…) 

And that’s when it hit me—X is for Xerces. Not my sister…well, kind of my sister…but more the Xerces Society, which is a “non-profit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat.”

What’s an invertebrate? Good question. It’s an animal that has no backbone or spinal column. (Maybe you know someone like that!) And let me tell you, there are MANY myths about invertebrates. Here are three of my favourite:

MYTH: Invertebrates are not animals.

Actually, they are. In fact, they were the first animals to evolve. Scientists have discovered fossilized burrows and tracks in sediments that date back nearly 1 billion years. Whoa!

MYTH: Some invertebrates have bones.

Uh, no. The very word invertebrate means “no bones”—not even little ones. Some insects, for instance, have a hard outer shell, but that shouldn’t be confused with “bone.”

MYTH: There are not very many invertebrates on Earth.

Way backwards. Scientists suggest about 97% of ALL species alive today are invertebrates. There are actually so many species of insects that scientists have yet to discover them all. Cool, right?

Can you believe it? Only TWO days left of the #AtoZChallenge. This month just flew by! What are some cool things you’ve learned reading my posts—or other blogs taking part in the challenge? See you tomorrow for the letter “Y.” It’s a good one!

~ Chase Superman Duffy