#AtoZChallenge: “Waking a sleepwalker can kill them”—& Other Health 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 BloggingChallenge, 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 Superman Duffy comics, including lucky #13, MYTHCONCEPTIONS.)

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MYTH: Waking a sleepwalker can kill them.

I’m starting to think my whole childhood is a lie! Okay, maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but while I was doing research for this post, it kind of hit home how naïve I am. For instance, I actually believed that waking a sleepwalker could kill them. Kind of like how I always thought that if you dreamt about dying, you’d die in real life. NEITHER OF THOSE MYTHS ARE TRUE!

In fact, if a sleepwalker is about to do something silly—like, walk into the middle of the street, for instance—waking them up could save their life!

But wait, there are MORE myths I have always believed that I now think are just a reason for the adults in my life to prank me. I’m not going to go into the science of all this but, here’s my quick-and-dirty laundry list of health myths that are going to BLOW. YOUR. MIND. (Not literally, obviously!)

• Sugar isn’t great for you, but it does not make kids hyper, act out, or lose focus.
• You will not get arthritis from cracking your knuckles. (Though that sound is very annoying…)
• Reading in poor light isn’t bad for your eyesight—our ancestors read by candle light or lantern and they saw just fine. Also: eating carrots does not improve your vision.
• Being cold will not give you a cold—in fact, you’re more likely to get sick INSIDE since that’s where the germs are.
• Chewing gum will stay in your stomach for 7 days, not years.
• Eating less than an hour before swimming does not increase your chance of getting muscle cramps or drowning.
• And, go ahead and touch a toad—it will not give you warts.

It’s like a whole bunch of April Fool’s Day jokes people forgot weren’t real! Argh!

Speaking of reading, you do know the whole set of Superman Duffy comics is up for grabs just by commenting on my #AtoZChallenge posts, right? Just think of all that reading you could be doing by flashlight. <grin>

Gotta jet! The #AtoZChallenge takes a break Sunday (a great chance for you to catch up on some of the other blogs taking part), but I’ll be back Monday with some cool myths about some of the world’s inventors. You'll be amazed!

~ Chase Superman Duffy

P.S. Comment on this post, or share it on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for a chance to WIN a complete set of the Superman Duffy comics. A winner will be chosen at random on May 1.