Slipping off to the Land of Nod does more than just rest the weary brain and your tired toes. In this article from The Dallas Morning News, Dr. Nilesh Davé, medical director of the Sleep and Breathing Disorders Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center, offers five reasons why we should make every effort to get the best sleep possible every night.

1. Fitness and Sleep. Stanford Sleep Disorder Clinic and Research Laboratory found in a 2008 study that swimmers who obtained additional hours of sleep (beyond their normal amount) actually became better athletes. Swim time, reaction time, turn time and kick strokes all improved. Studies in other sports support the same findings. However, studies published in Runner's World link on-going sleep deprivation to a decrease in athletic performance.
2. Growth and Sleep. Sleep is prime time for certain essential hormones to release into the body, including those necessary for growth. Cortisol is one hormone that peaks around 4 a.m., but if we do not get enough sleep our body produces too much cortisol. This leads to higher blood pressure, an increase in blood sugar, as well as an increase in appetite. When we are sleep deprived, leptin -- a hormone that tells the brain when we are full -- does not sufficiently produce; and therefore, our body thinks it is still hungry when in actuality it has had plenty of food.
   
3. Memory and Sleep. Remember pulling all-nighters in college cramming for an exam? You would ace the exam but not remember anything the next day. That is because sleep is essential for long-term memory recall.
   
4. Driving and Sleep. A 2006 study by the National Sleep Foundation and Virginia Tech Transportation Institute revealed the following alarming statistic: 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some sort of "driver inattention." According to the study, most drivers claimed lack of sleep as the culprit. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 200,000 sleep-related car accidents occur each year with as many as 1,500 fatal injuries.
   
5. Mood and Sleep. It is no secret that well-rested people are happier people. We all feel crabby when we do not get enough sleep. Rest can work wonders on our mood, and therefore all aspects of our lives.
   

Check in tomorrow to learn what your sleeping position says about your personality.

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I'm a cat when it comes to sleep. I could snooze ten or more hours a day if I didn't have kids and other life responsibilities. Most of us ride a wave of inconsistent sleep. Luckily, Self magazine offers a few tips to wake up feeling more alive than zombie-like.

• Open your shades when you first wake up or leave blinds/shades open at night to welcome in morning sunshine. Daylight triggers serotonin, an energizing hormone. Maybe those blackout shades we're considering are not a good idea, especially if my feline-sleeping self won't reach over to crack the shade at dawn.
• Keep TVs and computers out of the bedroom or at the very least, turn them off before bedtime. Blue light from their screens suppresses melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone.
• Make sure your bed has a view of the window so the sunshine can say good morning to your brain. Lighter colored linens, walls and flooring help spread the hello, too.
• If you need a nightlight so the bedbugs don't bite, use a red or amber hue -- no blue light. Wonder if my daughter's pink princess nightlight is the right color. Luckily, my son's blue rocket special is in the trash -- it started leaking fluid a few weeks ago.

For all you night owls out there, beyond getting ten hours of sleep, any new tips on waking refreshed -- beyond, er, the obvious?

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