Choosing my top five Fit Gadgets posts from the past year was a really difficult job. Some gadgets were so completely over-the-top, while others were incredibly simple (and affordable). Some I've used and loved, while others I desperately want. How am I supposed to choose the best?

Well, I had to leave out quite a few, but I narrowed it down to the five that I loved best. Did I miss any of your favorites? Or are there any you'd like to see me take a look at in 2009? Leave a comment and let me know!

I have been sleeping in ecstasy for the past few weeks. Yes. I have a Sleep Number Bed. Not only do I have a Sleep Number Bed, but I have the new kind with Memory Foam on top. Mmmmmm. It's amazing. In fact, I didn't realize how poorly I was sleeping until I got this bed.

I value sleep. I'm a fitness trainer, fitness enthusiast, mother of two and writer of far too many things. I need to sleep, and I need to sleep well in order to accomplish the ridiculous amount of tasks that fill my days. Are you familiar with this insane style of living? I bet many of you are.

Sleep is such a powerful tool. In fact, it's a requirement for professionals and parents and growing children too. Think of it this way. Exhausted people don't work out. Those running on fumes struggle to achieve the bare minimums of each day and then toss and turn at night, unable to get to sleep quickly. Sleepless people tend to eat poorly and gain weight as a result as well. The bottom line? Quality sleep is a crucial component for vitality, fitness and success.

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You know how it's always easier to fix something around the house if you have the right tools? Trust me, using a key as a screwdriver is not a good idea.

Anyway, the same thing applies in the kitchen -- if you're trying to cook low-fat, portion controlled meals, but still want them to be flavorful and delicious, you need the right tools to get started!

Celebrity diet chef Bethenny Frankel told Health that her favorite kitchen tools make it easy to consistently cook light. And, in addition to a few of her favorite gadgets, she shared a couple of other "skinny kitchen" tricks. Check out the gallery to see how she keeps her clients thin!

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No, a 'tractor beam' is not related to something from a farmer's garage nor a Star Trek movie -- but it's related to a medical procedure if you can believe that.

Using light to precisely move particles on a microchip, scientists think they can soon use this kind of technology to develop nano-sized medical sensors that can lead to ever more control over meddling into the most minute spaces in the human body.

If perfected for medical fields (instead of on microchips), newer 'disease detectors' could become commonplace and allow the human body to interact with electronics. Maybe the singularity is really nearer than we think.

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We only have one Earth. And one Life. And one chance. So we might as well do things right, like preserving the gifts bestowed upon each one of us, say the powers that be at A.R.E. Naturals, an on-line shop offering products made from materials drawn purely through the generosity of Mother Nature.

This shop has quite an inventory of green items -- stuff for the kitchen, the bed and bath, the garden, the mind, and of course: The body.

Check out these fitness tools. There's a bamboo yoga block, a hemp yoga mat bag, and a hemp yoga bolster. How about a natural rubber fitness ball? Or natural rubber weight balls? These are just some of the finds you'll discover with one swift click of your mouse.

If you're an earth-loving enthusiast who lives and breathes the green life, this may be just the stop for you. If you've located other great green fitness locations, drop us a comment and let us know how to get there.

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Either a lot more of us are trying to DIY around the house, or we're just not as careful as we used to be. Emergency rooms visits from DIY-related injuries -- specifically those resulting from nail guns accidents -- have doubled since 2001. This, after having tripled between 1991 and 2005, which adds up to about 14,800 people every year that are driving nails into themselves on accident -- making these seemingly random incidents a significant national health concern.

Fortunately, it's not entirely our fault. According to researchers, safety training (read: not being so careless) is an important factor, but the only way to see a real reduction in these sorts of injuries is to make safer tools. In particular, they'd like to see nail guns with safer triggers, that prevent rapid, unintentional firing.

"These kinds of injuries are often seen as bizarre accidents, but they actually occur fairly frequently," says Dr. Hester Lipscomb, Ph.D., the study's author. This means it can happen to you, so be careful, think before you buy a tool you don't know how to use, and if in doubt, don't be afraid to ask for help from a professional.

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