Recently, in one of the largest efforts we've seen, over 150 health experts from 50 countries got together to discuss what in the world we're all going to do about the growing health problems around the world. They came up with an action plan that includes 20 global health priorities, which fall into categories like government policies, business and community involvement, and re-orienting health systems.

The experts hope that by coordinating efforts on a global scale they can prevent as many as 36 million deaths (from diseases like obesity, diabetes, and many cancers) by 2015. That's incredible! I hope they can keep it together and actually make that happen.

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I think sometimes, or most of the time maybe, we all get lost in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Choices and decisions get rushed and the lines between what we need, what we want, and what we're actually doing start to blur. The truth is that although it's great to have all kinds of different goals in life you have to be careful you're not trying to do too much at once. When is the last time you really thought about your priorities? Not everything can be at the top of the list. Where is your health on that list? Are you really giving your top priorities the most effort and focus? It seems many people say 'health and losing weight' is a top priority, but then they bog themselves down with so many other things they hardly have time to work on it. Whether you like it or not that means it's at the bottom of the list, not the top.

So take a few minutes to think about what's important to you and to make some decisions. Make the choice to choose, and you may be surprised at how much focus, determination, and newfound success you find you suddenly have.

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Normal logic says that the more you work the more you'll sleep, given there's enough time in the day. It's a law of physics or something, right? New studies say no, that's not how it works at all. The more people work the less they sleep, on average. That seems totally backwards!

Recent research took a look at how much people sleep as compared to their lifestyles, and found that the #1 culprit for eating into sleep time was work. Those who got less than 4 1/2 hours of sleep a night (every night? How can they function?) generally worked about 93 minutes longer on weekdays and 118 extra minutes on the weekend. On the flip side the people who slept more than 11 hours (whoa) on average worked 143 minutes less on weekdays and 71 minutes less on weekends. TV time was also higher for the long sleepers, as compared to socializing and housework which were higher for the sleep-deprived group. And age seemed to have something to do with it too, as the age group 45-54 was the most likely to be working the most and sleeping the least.

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I'm sure there are a few out there that aren't, but most jobs for most people are absolutely full to the max in the way of things to do and general responsibilities. How many of us get to say "I wish I had more to do..." in the middle of the afternoon? It's more like "What?!? It's what time already!?" followed by some discreetly done internal freaking out and a trip to the coffee machine.

This inevitably leads to working late hours, which in turn takes time from home, family, and personal obligations. All this causes generalized stress, which we all know contributes to countless health issues. It's why so many of us relate so well to the phrase "not enough hours in the day."

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For you women out there, what are your core health fears and goals? Prevention magazine recently initiated a poll of over 2,000 women aged 20 years and older, and asked them just that -- among lots of other things.

They gathered information about all kinds of women's issues, which you can read about here, but the #1 goal for women of all ages is to lose weight, while the #1 top priority for all ages is happiness. I'm glad it's something positive, and not something like "battling obesity." Because after all, pretty much everything you want in life comes a little easier if you're generally in a good place.

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