Going to bed earlier may save you from putting on extra pounds

Sleep. After a long, stressful week, I'm already looking forward to it; laying my head to the pillow and drifting off, only to wake-up tomorrow revived and alert. And based on a great deal of research, much healthier, too.

The amount of sleep a person gets on average has bee linked to weight gain/loss. Scientists from the University of Michigan studied the relationship between sleeping and eating, creating a formula to calculate how many calories a person can cut from their diet by sleeping 8 hours a night instead of 7. It was discovered through the use of their formula that replacing a mere one hour of idle activity with sleep can result in a calorie reduction of 6 percent. Why is this? Because people tend to eat when they are bored, plain and simple.

So, if someones hanging around the house, maybe watching a late-night broadcast of Flash Gordon or An Uzi at the Alamo ;), chances are, they will reach for a bag of this or a bowl of that. By instead putting head to pillow a little earlier, you can save yourself some unwanted calories -- and even burn some more while you sleep.

By the way, I know a 6 percent reduction in calorie consumption may not seem like a lot. But, over year's time, that means losing about 12 pounds!!