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missroseroseScientists debunk myth that you lose most of your heat through your head
The face, head and chest are more sensitive to changes in temperature than the rest of the body, making it feel as if covering them up does more to prevent heat loss. In fact, covering one part of the body has as much effect as covering any other. If the experiment had been performed with people wearing only swimming trunks, they would have lost no more than 10% of their body heat through their heads, the scientists add. [...]
"Examining common medical myths reminds us to be aware of when evidence supports our advice, and when we operate based on unexamined beliefs," they write.
Something good for all of us to remember - even if you've been taught a "fact" by every adult since elementary school, it's still not necessarily true - look for evidence to support it. (On the flipside, however, questioning things just for the sake of questioning them doesn't help anyone. Conduct your own studies, or research your own evidence. Don't claim you're "thinking critically" when all you're doing is being contrary.)
The face, head and chest are more sensitive to changes in temperature than the rest of the body, making it feel as if covering them up does more to prevent heat loss. In fact, covering one part of the body has as much effect as covering any other. If the experiment had been performed with people wearing only swimming trunks, they would have lost no more than 10% of their body heat through their heads, the scientists add. [...]
"Examining common medical myths reminds us to be aware of when evidence supports our advice, and when we operate based on unexamined beliefs," they write.
Something good for all of us to remember - even if you've been taught a "fact" by every adult since elementary school, it's still not necessarily true - look for evidence to support it. (On the flipside, however, questioning things just for the sake of questioning them doesn't help anyone. Conduct your own studies, or research your own evidence. Don't claim you're "thinking critically" when all you're doing is being contrary.)
