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Sleep More, Stress Less--and Lose Weight

Most of us are getting less than 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep a night, which experts say is the minimum amount that a person needs to maintain a healthy weight. Most of us also face high amounts of stress as well.

Now a group of researchers reports that these 2 factors--not enough sleep and too much stress--could be one of the main culprits sabotaging our weight-management goals.

Increased sleep + reduced stress = more successful weight loss?

A study just published in the International Journal of Obesity shows that getting 6 to 8 hours of sleep a night, while at the same time managing stress effectively, may double your chances of winning at the weight-loss game.

The study, from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, involved almost 500 overweight men and women who volunteered to participate in a 26-week intervention looking at their diets and lifestyles. Here are the results: