Here’s some news to sleep on. If you don’t snooze, you’ll lose – some health benefits, that is. And if you do snooze, you’ll lose – at least when it comes to weight.

Just what is all this sleep-talk about?

Scientific research continues to uncover evidence that sleep has many health benefits. It’s long been known that a proper night’s sleep can boost a person’s mood, but new studies indicate that it is good for the heart, brain, and waistline, too.

With Americans sleeping, on average, only about 6.5 hours per night (instead of the recommended eight), this might seem like a tough sell. But the good news is that power naps can help.

In one long-term study of more than 23,000 people, scientists found that midday napping, or siestas, reduced deaths from heart disease by about one-third. Even occasional nappers – those who napped fewer than three times per week – had a 12 percent reduction in coronary mortality.

The protective effect of naps was especially strong in working men, the researchers determined.

“Taking a nap could turn out to be an important weapon in the fight against coronary mortality,” Dimitrios Trichopoulos, the study’s lead author, told the Washington Post. “If you have an opportunity to take a nap, then, yes, do it. If you’re accustomed to taking a nap, then don’t give it up.”

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It might sound a bit absurd, totally contrary to everything you’ve ever been taught about proper nutrition. But, fruit may be a bad apple, at least in relatively large amounts.

Heresy, you say? Hardly.

The key word here is excess. Nutritional guidelines state that we all need several servings of fresh produce each day. But as with anything in life, there really can be too much of a good thing.

And in this case, the good or bad thing (depending on how you want to look at it) is fructose, the natural sugar that makes fruit sweet. Increasingly, scientific evidence shows that too much of it, whether consumed in large amounts of fruit or added to foods as a sweetener, can make us fat.

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For anyone needing to lose weight (and who doesn’t these days?) comes welcome new research showing there is life – and weight loss—beyond the low-fat diet.

The popular Mediterranean diet is a safe and effective alternative to the low-fat plan often recommended by physicians, Israeli researchers determined in a two-year-long study published in July in the New England Journal of Medicine.

While people who stick with almost any diet lose weight, those on the Mediterranean diet lost a significant amount – almost 10 pounds, compared to about six pounds for those on a low-fat diet. And the Mediterranean diet, in particular, was praised by the scientists because it is high in fruits, vegetables and fiber, all of which are beneficial for health.  Previous research has shown it is good for the heart, and may even reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

What is a Mediterranean diet?

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Last month, I blogged about a concept getting more attention in weight and health – the size of your waist may be even more important than the number on the scale.  Now, two recent developments further highlight that point. 

In that last post, I talked about a powerful study from the Mayo Clinic on a phenomenon called “normal-weight obesity.” That research indicated that more than half of American adults not considered overweight by regular standards such as Body Mass Index actually had high body-fat percentages, especially in their midsection. Those with wider waists also had higher rates of heart and metabolic risk factors.

Recent news illustrates that more findings support that idea. After looking at the health records of more than 20,000 people, researchers at Ohio State University spotted similar problems.

People included in the study who were not considered formally overweight but had a “marginally increased” waist circumference were much more likely to have high blood pressure than those with slim midsections. The scientists determined that adults with “normal” weights but a wide waist have an increased risk of cardiovascular problems. 

In other words, Americans need to get a handle on their love handles.

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If you consider yourself fairly trim—perhaps a woman who is 5’7’’ and weighs about 135 to 140 pounds, or a man who measures an even 6 feet and weighs 170 pounds—you may think you don’t have to worry about your weight and your health. You may need to think again.

We’ve all been trained to assume that a lower BMI, or Body Mass Index, always equals better health. But recent research from the Mayo Clinic says what really matters is body fat, not weight or BMI. You may appear to be in pretty good shape, but form isn’t always an accurate indicator of body fat. And if you carry a relatively high percentage of body fat – more than 20 percent for men or 30 percent for women—you may still be at increased risk for serious health problems such as diabetes or heart disease. 

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