TODAY'S NEWS
Thursday, February 8, 2007; Page C14
Sleep Yourself Slimmer
· Here's another reason to make sure you get plenty of sleep: Kids who do get enough ZZZZZs are less likely to be overweight, researchers say.
Just one extra hour of sleep each day cuts the likelihood of being overweight from 34 percent to 30 percent for kids ages 8 to 13, according to a study at Northwestern University in Illinois.
Emily Snell, chief researcher on the project, said that not getting enough sleep can leave a person tired, cutting down on exercise. Also, being up an extra hour or two each day provides more time to snack on unhealthy food.
So, how much sleep should you get? Experts recommend 10 to 11 hours a night for kids ages 5 to 12, and eight to nine hours for teens.
See for Yourself
· Playing video games might improve your vision.
A study at the University of Rochester in New York found that people who play video games -- especially action games -- did better than non-gamers on tests that measured their attention and ability to see objects.
As little as 10 hours of game-playing appeared to have some benefit.
Correction: Georgianna Ziegler is the head of reference at Folger Shakespeare Library. We got her title wrong yesterday.
