You've heard the news and seen the headlines. Apparently us Americans are walking zombies getting less and less sleep every year. This is what organizations such as The Sleep Foundation will lead you to believe. But a study out of the University of Maryland counters this argument saying that citizens in the USA are actually getting plenty of sleep.

Whereas the myth of sleep deprivation claims we're getting less than seven hours of shut eye, the UM research says Americans are getting a healthy dose of eight hours. Why the discrepancy? Well interestingly enough, it may have more to do with funding than results.

The Sleep Foundation gets its money partly from pharmaceutical companies that manufacture sleep aids. See the connection? The University of Maryland, however, funded its research using tax dollars. Not only that, but the myth is dispelled using far more numbers -- there was a difference in over 30,000 individuals between the two surveys. It just goes to show you that not everything you see in the media is 100 percent accurate!

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Keeping a food journal is one of the simplest weight-lost tools out there. But it's not as simple as just writing down what you ate -- According to this article from Super Athlete Gabby Reece, you have to keep track of what time you ate, how much you ate and how you felt when you ate. And don't forget -- you need to keep track of your drinks too!

After time, you might start to recognize patterns in your eating. For instance, did you eat more at times when you were stressed about your job? Did you eat more when you had a drink before dinner? Once you've recognized these destructive habits, you can break them.

For more tips on keeping a food journal, click here.

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