Q&A
No– infact,it maygiveyoua
betternight’ssleep.A 2007
studyattheNetherlands
InstituteforNeuroscience
foundthatpeoplewhowore
socksinbedfellasleepfaster
thanthosewithout.The
reasonis thatwarmingyour
feettricksyourbodyinto
thinkingit’stoohot,andsoit
increasesbloodflowtothe
skin.Thiscausesyourcore
temperaturetodropslightly,
anda reducedcore
temperatureis oneofthe
signalsthattellthebrainto
prepareforsleep.It’sa good
ideatoweara differentpair
fromyourdaytimesocks,
though,justtokeep things
feeling fresh.LV
YASMINHAYES(AGE13),LONDON
IS ITBAD
TO WEAR
SOCKS
IN BED? Saltwater
crocodile
Heartrate:1-3bpmwhen
underwater
Range:India,Asia,Australia
Bluewhale
Heartrate:2bpmwhen
diving
Range: Worldwide
Hibernating
groundhog
Heartrate:5bpm
Range: US, Canada
Gianttortoise
Heartrate:6-10bpm
Range: Galápagos Islands
Elephant
Heartrate:30bpm
Range: Africa, Asia
Human
Heartrate:60-100bpm
Range: Worldwide
Cat
Heartrate:140-220bpm
Range: Worldwide
Canary
Heartrate:1,000bpm
Range: Worldwide
Blue-throated
hummingbird
Heartrate:1,260bpm
Range: US, Mexico
Pygmyshrew
Heartrate:1,511bpm
Range: Northern Eurasia
TOP 10
HE ARTR ATE S
Someoftheslowestandfastest
heartrates in beats per minute
(BPM)
PETERSPICER,GLOUCESTERSHIRE
WHYISPOOALWAYS
BROWN, NOMATTER
WHAT WE EAT?
Bythetimeit hasbeenthroughyour
intestines,mostofthenaturalpigments
infoodhavebeendigestedaway(the
redfrombeetrootbeinga notable
exception).Thebrowncolouris duetoa
chainofprocesses,whichbeginswith
thebreakdownofoldredbloodcellsto
producea chemicalcalledbilirubin.This
endsupintheliver,whereit mixeswith
bile.Thebiletravelsintothegut,where
bacteriametabolisethebilirubininto
anotherchemicalcalled stercobilin,
which is brown.LV
QUESTION OF THE MONTH
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