Some medical myths debunked....

• NEVER WAKE SLEEPWALKERS: Many fear this will cause a heart attack, shock or brain damage. It's true that waking up a sleepwalker may confuse or frighten them, and they may even become violent in their confusion and try to hurt you - there have even been rare cases of sleepwalkers committing murder. So if you can guide the sleepwalker back to bed without waking them, that might be the best strategy!

• EATING LATE AT NIGHT MAKES YOU FAT: Health magazines are full of ways to change your eating habits to help you lose weight. One of the big suggestions is to not eat at night. The rationale seems to be that if you eat later in the evening or before you go to bed, you won't have time to burn off those calories before you fall asleep. Or, perhaps, your metabolism slows down in the evening. However, various studies have shown that it's not the time of day that matters, but how much you eat. For instance, one Swedish study of 86 obese men and 61 average-weight men found no differences in the timing of when they ate.

• GUM STICKS IN YOUR GUT FOR YEARS: Chewing gum is made out of gum base, sweeteners, coloring and flavoring. The gum base is pretty indigestible; it is a mixture of elastomers, resins, fats, emulsifiers and waxes (sounds delicious). Most of the time, your stomach really can't break down the gum the way it would other foods. However, your digestive system has another way to deal with things you swallow. After all, we eat lots of things that we can't fully digest. The gut just keeps moving them along until they make it all the way through the intestines and come out the other end. So gum usually ends up in your toilet one to two days later. Even though gum is sticky, it is usually no match for the power of your gut.