More sleep

I almost never have difficulty going to sleep. In fact there are stories circulating about a couple of awkward I-can't-believe-she-fell-asleep situations (one amongst a noisy crowd and another involving a more intimate moment). Suffice it to say that I've not gone looking for tidbits on better sleep: I've just been harping on others about the need for more sleep. But when I happen upon a juicy tidbit, I latch on. Like this one -

"Not getting enough rest increases your risk of being obese -
and the less sleep you get, the greater the risk"

Upon reading this statement that I read in the Jan/Feb 2008 Health issue I decided to do a bit of investigating to answer some of my own questions (what is not enough rest? how great is the risk: like 0.2% or 100%? who says?)
Turns out there's a guy named Michael Breus, aka 'the sleep doctor', who has written a book on sleep, who has a website (http://www.yourbeautysleep.com/ NOTE: the site seems to be mostly about selling rather than imparting info. But there is another website that Dr. Mike informed me of in the comments, and it has informative articles: www.soundsleepsolutions.com) and who has been on Oprah -- who knew? I had never even heard of him before this mention in Health. But, I digress. To the good stuff:

"Two hormones affected by lack of sleep are directly related to eating: gherlin (the "go" hormone that tells you to eat) and leptin (the "stop" hormone that tells you you're full). 'Sleep deprivation causes an increase in gherlin and a decrease in leptin,' says Michael Breus, PhD, author of Beauty Sleep. Being low on sleep also causes cortisol levels to rise, which gives you a greater appetite. 'Your metabolism slows, too,' he adds." - Health Jan/Feb 2008 (www.health.com/sleep)

That's a quadruple whammy. Maybe tonight I'll go to bed a little bit earlier. You?
For a teeny bit more info on getting a good night's sleep, go to http://www.niapublications.org/agepages/sleep.asp