Sleep the pounds off I've talked many times before about the benefits of getting plenty of quality sleep. And now there's another one to add to the list: Getting more sleep reduces junk food cravings. A recent study, published in this month's issue of the journal Appetite found that when sleep-deprived, overweight adults got an average of 96 (now that's specific...) extra minutes of sleep a night, it reduced their cravings for sweet and salty junk food by 62 percent. And their overall appetite decreased by 14 percent. I've written about this before: Being awake when you should be sleeping comes at a serious metabolic cost. It takes more energy just to stay awake. And many times, people compensate for this by, you guessed it--eating. Yes, losing weight is harder for some people than for others. Some people have inherited a genetic tendency to gain weight easily. I have the obesity gene myself, and grew up as an overweight child -- so I know of which I speak. But you can beat this genetic tendency with good diet and exercise habits, and other things that are entirely under your control. Like getting enough sleep. Until next time, Dr. Fred SOURCES "Curcumin for the treatment of major depression: A randomised, double-blind, placebo controlled study." J Affect Disord. 2014; 167:368-375 "Efficacy and safety of curcumin in major depressive disorder: a randomized controlled trial." Phytother Res. 2014; 28(4): 579-585 "The effects of extended bedtimes on sleep duration and food desire in overweight young adults: A home-based intervention," Appetite 2014; 80: 220-224