My grandma always used to tell me that I need to sleep to preserve my beauty (usually when I was naughty and didn't want to take my afternoon nap). Well, who would have known that she was soooo right?

The New Scientist magazine brings a story about sleep and weight loss connection. As it turns out, if you sleep your steady seven hours a night you should be somewhat protected from gaining those extra pounds, states dr. Sanjay Patel: His study of more than 68,000 women has found that those who sleep less than 5 hours a night gain more weight over time than those who sleep 7 hours a night.

And, believe it or not, this is not because of those late night snacks, but instead the sleep deprived women have lower metabolic rate and tend to bring the fidgeting to the minimum.

So, in order to keep your desired weight and maybe lose some too, sleep at least seven hours a night. Turn off your mobile, draw the curtains and read a book to get sleepy, maybe the Sleeping Beauty would be a good choice?