生活中普遍存在的七个医学误区

Reading in dim light won't damage your eyes, you don't need eight glasses of water a day to stay healthy and shaving your legs won't make the hair grow back faster.

在昏暗的灯光下看书不会伤害眼睛；每天也不必喝八杯水来保持健康；剃掉腿毛也不会让它长得更快。

These well-worn theories are among seven "medical myths" exposed in a paper published in the British Medical Journal.

这些老生常谈在《英国医学杂志》的一篇论文中被列入七项“医学误区”。

Two U.S. researchers, Aaron Carroll and Rachel Vreeman, took seven common beliefs and searched the archives for evidence to support them.

阿伦·卡罗尔和雷切尔·弗里曼是来自美国的两位研究人员，他们选定了七个普遍共识，搜寻了大量卷宗来寻找支持它们的证据。

Despite frequent mentions in the popular press of the need to drink eight glasses of water, they found no scientific basis for the claim. The other six "myths" are:

尽管大众媒体经常提到每天要喝八杯水，但对这一说法他们并没有找到科学依据。其他六个“误区”是：

Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight

在昏暗的灯光下看书会毁坏视力

The majority of eye experts believed it was unlikely to do any permanent damage, but it might make you squint, blink more and have trouble focusing, the researchers said.

这两位研究者说，大多数眼科专家认为这样不会造成永久性伤害，但会让你更频繁地眯眼和眨眼，并使眼睛难以聚焦。

Shaving makes hair grow back faster or coarser

剔除毛发后反会令毛发长得更快更粗

It has no effect on the thickness or rate of hair regrowth. But stubble lacks the finer taper of unshaven hair, giving the impression of coarseness.

其实这对毛发的浓密度和再生速度都没有影响，但修剪后的新毛茬末端不像未修剪时那样逐渐变细，所以给人感觉变粗了。

Eating turkey makes you drowsy

吃火鸡会令人昏昏欲睡

It does contain an amino acid called tryptophan that is involved in sleep and mood control. But turkey has no more of the acid than chicken or minced beef. Eating lots of food and drink at holidays are probably the real cause of sleepiness.

火鸡肉中的确含有一种氨基酸叫色氨酸，对睡眠和情绪会产生影响。但火鸡含的这种酸并不比肌肉或者碎牛肉多。在节日里暴饮暴食才可能是犯困的真正原因。

We use only 10 percent of our brains

只有10%的大脑被利用

This myth arose as early as 1907 but imaging shows no area of the brain is silent or completely inactive.

这个误解早在1907年就产生了，但（对大脑）扫描成像显示，大脑中没有完全不活动的区域。

Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death

人死后头发和指甲还会生长

This idea may stem from ghoulish novels. The researchers said the skin dries out and retracts after death, giving the appearance of longer hair or nails.

这个认识可能来自恐怖小说。研究者说，死亡之后皮肤会变干并且收缩，所以显得头发和指甲更长了。

Mobile phones are dangerous in hospitals

在医院里使用移动电话有风险

Despite widespread concerns, studies have found minimal interference with medical equipment.

尽管人们对此都很担心，但研究发现手机对医疗器械的干扰十分微弱。