Image from aces.edu

Emily Samson

About 60 to 75% of your body weight is made up of water, and water has an important role in maintaining vital bodily functions. For example, water is essential for digestion, joint lubrication, nutrient absorption, and much more. Since your body loses water through things like breathing, sweating, and urinating, it is important to replenish your water supply to keep your body functioning properly. So, how much water do you need to drink daily to keep your body functioning properly? 

You might have heard of the 8×8 rule, a theory that drinking 8 eight-ounce glasses of water a day has health benefits. This equates to drinking a little more than half a gallon daily. However, there is no evidence to support that 8 eight-ounce glasses of water is an ideal amount of water intake, and it is unclear where the rule originated. The amount of water that is healthy for a person to drink daily may vary by body weight, environmental temperature, and physical activity levels.

One proposed benefit of drinking excess water is for appetite suppression. One study found that young men who drank 2 glasses of water before meals ate 22% less than those who did not. However, another study found that drinking water before eating only reduced meal consumption in older adults, not younger adults. It’s not clear that drinking water can play a role in appetite suppression and more experimental evidence is needed. Other proposed benefits of drinking excess water are an improvement in skin complexion or reductions in the intensity of headaches, but these claims are not supported with experimental evidence. 

Our bodies are designed to make sure we have enough water. Most water absorption happens in the kidneys. Within seconds, the kidneys can make molecular adjustments to increase or decrease water absorption. For example, if you drink more water than your body needs, you pee out the excess water. On the other hand, if you drink less water than your body needs, your kidneys conserve water and signal your brain to make you feel thirsty. The kidneys help adjust water levels based on the body’s needs. There is no single answer for how much water is healthy to drink daily. However, your water intake is likely adequate if you rarely feel thirsty and if your urine is colorless or a light yellow. 

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20National%20Academies%20of,fluids%20a%20day%20for%20women

https://www.mdlinx.com/article/8-glasses-of-water-a-day-myth-or-medicine/lfc-2814

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/1/70/htm

Image from womenshealthmag.com

Emily Samson

The average American adult spends as many as 12 hours a day in front of a TV, computer, or phone, and the pandemic has likely added an hour or two to that number. There is no evidence that electronic screen usage causes eye damage. However, there is a theory that people might experience more symptoms, such as tiredness or dryness, with greater screen time. Concepts like these merit great care. It can be argued that associating screen activity or exposure with eye damage has done more harm than good. If this theory is inaccurate, it might unnecessarily increase worry about screen time and unhelpfully create or reinforce unhealthy avoidant behavior.     

The theory is that people tend to develop screen time habits, such as blinking less than usual, which can lead to more symptoms of eye dryness or irritation. In this context, one recommendation for eye health is glasses that limit exposure to blue light. Since the onset of the pandemic, blue light glass retailers have reported a surge in sales. Is this another example of creating an illness in order to sell the cure? Or is there some verifiable health benefit?  

 Blue light glasses block around 20% of blue light waves. Most light sources, such as the sun, emit a broad spectrum of light, including blue light. Electronic screens, which are made out of light emitting diodes (LEDs), emit more blue light than traditional light sources. 

Studies show that blue light helps regulate the body’s sleep cycles. During the day, blue light can boost alertness. A study of eight people suggested that too much blue light at night can disrupt the body’s sleep patterns. However, the evidence is incomplete, and this is still up for debate.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology advises that it is not helpful to spend money on blue light glasses, because there is insufficient evidence that eye strain is an issue or that blue light is problematic. Rather than purchasing blue light glasses, they recommend following the 20/20/20 rule to limit any unwanted eye symptoms. Every 20 minutes, look at an object 20 feet away from you for 20 seconds. It may also help to keep the screen an arm’s length away from your eyes and perhaps limit staring at a bright screen in a dark room. If your eyes feel dry, simply blink or take a short break from looking at your screen. 

 https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/blue-light-digital-eye-strain

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-has-a-dark-side#:~:text=LED%20lights%20are%20more%20efficient,less%20than%20most%20fluorescent%20lightbulbs.

Image from cnn.com

Madison McGuire

Baby walkers are wheeled devices consisting of a suspended fabric seat with leg holes that allow infants to push themselves around before they can walk. Some people believe that baby walkers can help their baby learn to walk. While these devices might seem like a great way to entertain or stimulate a child, they may delay a baby’s ability to walk independently and can cause serious injuries from the device tipping over or moving towards dangerous areas, such as an oven or a swimming pool. 

There is some research to suggest baby walkers may cause a delay in motor development. A previous study showed that 102 infants who used baby walkers started crawling about a month later and started walking about 3 weeks later on average than the 88 infants who didn’t. The delay was shown to be about 3 days for every 24 hours of walker use. According to many physicians, the explanation is that babies use their leg muscles in a different way while being suspended in a baby walker compared to pulling themselves up and learning to walk. Since the infants can’t see their legs or feet in the walker, they are not receiving the visual feedback normally associated with moving their limbs. When a baby is spending time in the walker rather than playing on the floor or learning pre-walking skills, such as rolling over, sitting up, and pulling up, they are not practicing movement and balance. 

The enhanced mobility also puts the child at risk for falling down the stairs, crashing into something, or easily reaching for potentially harmful items, even under a parent’s watch. Rather than using walkers, parents are encouraged to allow their baby to spend lots of time on the floor in a playpen to practice the movements needed for them to reach their walking milestones.  

https://www.pregnancybirthbaby.org.au/baby-walkers

https://www.parenthub.com.au/baby/baby-health/baby-walkers-helpful-harmful/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC116446/