Getting Enough Sleep Can Help You Lose Weight

According to an article in the April 2011 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine, if you're trying to lose weight, it may be time to go to bed.  In a University of Chicago study of overweight adults following a balanced, restricted-calorie diet, subjects lost 55 percent more weight as fat (almost two pounds) after two weeks when they slept for 8.5 hours each night compared with a period of sleeping only 5.5 hours.  When you're short on shut-eye, study authors say, your body produces more ghrelin, one of the hunger hormones.  To keep munchies at bay, sleep for however long it takes you to feel well rested in the A.M.