Health & Science

Sleeping pills can trigger bizarre behavior during sleep. As sleep aids become more popular, researchers are reporting a growing number of cases of sleepwalking, sleep-eating, and even sleep-driving. At the same time, a study found that sleep meds don’t even work very well, increasing average sleep time by a mere 15 minutes per night.

Educational videos for the diaper crowd may have the opposite of their intended effect. Videos such as Baby Einstein and Brainy Baby promise to nurture a young child’s brain by presenting simple images, tunes, and vocabulary words. But a study found that children were inclined to “zone out” in front of such videos. In fact, those who watched them everyday understood, on average, seven fewer words than kids who did not watch—presumably because the latter group instead was interacting more with other humans.

Sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll are a lethal combination, said a study that evaluated the longevity of more than 1,000 rock stars going back several decades. It’s no secret that famous rock musicians such as Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain died before their time, but researchers were shocked to learn just how common the fate was. American rock stars lived to an average age of just 42, while European rockers had an average life span of only 35 years. The culprits? Substance abuse, risky sex, and extensive travel, leading to more airplane and car accidents.

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Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation can be counterproductive. Researchers found that people who have heart attacks are twice as likely to survive if they receive continuous chest compressions without mouth-to-mouth. Breaths should be administered only in cases of drowning, drug overdose, and choking.

Chinese food is the deadliest cuisine around. A study found that just about every dish on the menu at your local Chinese restaurant contains frightening levels of salt and saturated fat. Not even the veggies are safe: A typical serving of stir-fried greens contains 900 calories and 2,200 milligrams of sodium—just 100 milligrams short of a day’s entire recommended dose.

Your office job might be killing you. The risk of life-threatening blood clots increases dramatically for those who remain mostly seated from 9 to 5, five days a week, a study found. And beware if your desk is next to the printer: Another study found that 27 percent of laser printers spew particulate chemicals as harmful to lungs as secondhand smoke.

New breeds of marijuana are so potent that they can cause psychotic episodes. Researchers found that healthy people who smoked the newest varieties of pot could experience hallucinations and paranoid delusions. For people who suffer from schizophrenia and other mental disorders, pot can lead to significant mental deterioration. “We are no longer talking about the drug of the 1960s and 1970s,” said Office of National Drug Control Policy director John Walters. Because of significantly higher levels of the chemical THC, today’s pot is 10 times as potent as the pot from the old days.

Vitamin supplements can do more harm than good. Many people assume that the more vitamins they take, the better. But two studies found that when taken in excess, vitamins can become dangerous, especially if people are turning to vitamins instead of changing their lifestyles and diet. Danish researchers found that the common routine of taking daily doses of vitamin A, E, and beta carotene increased the risk of death by about 5 percent. Another study found that routinely taking more than the recommended dose of multivitamins doubled a man’s risk of prostate cancer.

Bratz dolls and other sexy items marketed to preteen girls pressure them to become sexualized too soon, experts warned. Studies found that products aimed at young girls have grown increasingly sexual, and that they breed confusion and insecurity. Thong underwear is now marketed to 7-year-olds, and magazines are telling 10-year-olds how to get “A Fierce Body Fast,” said educator Deborah Roffman. As a result, she said, young girls take away the message: “It’s okay for you to be interested in sex. It’s okay for you to dress and act sexy, right now.”