Sleep being a key to weight loss and performance enhancement?

Dr. Mercola's article below is a great description on how sleep really affects all of us.  The lack of sleep over time can really increase our chances for many disease states (heart disease, obesity, depression, high blood pressure and diabetes).

Now, if you are like me at all, it can be really hard to get into a good habit for sleep.  Whether it be the distractions of work, recreation, childeren, personal problems, sleep becomes a lower priority as we get older.  The good news is, that there are more studies coming out where we can actually 'make up' for lost sleep.

So not only for my own personal benefit here, but I want you all to consider how each area of our life can affect our health, positively or negatively.  It is the awareness and the action to change our habits that will create a better lifestyle.  We all want to be happy when we get older without large medical bills.  We all want to be able to look great and feel great while being active.  Sleep is just another consideration of our total wellness.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/08/23/seven-hours--the-magic-number-for-sleep.aspx