Look, this isn't anything you don't already know: every so often
a scientist will pop up to remind us that sleep is very, very
important. But today, with our clocks set one hour forward for
Daylight Savings Time, it seems especially relevant. So here's
something to keep in mind, as you struggle to get out of bed
this morning: most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep a
day. As you might suspect, very few of us get that. While there
are some rare individuals who can get by on much less —
researcher Ying-Hui Fu calls these freaks "short sleepers" — the
rest of us will experience the consequences of sleep
deprivation. Just ask Dr. Nate Watson, co-director of the
University of Washington Sleep Center. When you sleep less,
genetic factors that are associated with obesity seem to be
turned on. For instance, there's a hormone called leptin, which
is released from fat cells. That tells your body that you're
full when you've eaten. That hormone level goes down when you're
sleep-deprived. You think you're still hun