If you’re trying to lose weight, it’s best to get a good night’s sleep. A recent study (reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, March 31, 2010) in France looked at sleep, eating, and energy expenditure in 12 healthy young men over a four day period.

Two days were control – the participants kept to their usual pattern but kept track of their sleep, eating and activities in a diary. Then, the men slept 8 hours on the third day and just 4 hours on the fourth day. They were allowed to eat as much as they liked. When sleep deprived, the men ate 22% more calories.

The researchers, Brondel and Davenne noted, ”It is time to understand that sleep is not just losing time, besides the recovery processes that occur, there are many other functions (energy conservation, memory and so on) which are going on.”

Read more here.