If You Want To Trim Your Waistline, Get Some Sleep

BOSTON (CBS) - If you're trying to slim down, according to a study in the journal Sleep, you may not get very far if you're sleep deprived.

Researchers asked 36 overweight and obese adults to cut calories for eight weeks. While the participants each lost about seven pounds, those who got about an hour less sleep each weeknight lost less fat tissue and more lean muscle. Getting some "catch up" sleep on the weekends didn't seem to make a difference.

Previous studies have also suggested that sleep and weight are linked, and that if you sleep less, you tend to eat more, so if you want to lose weight, you should aim to get about 7-8 hours of sleep a night.