Here's just one more reason for the importance of sleep to our overall health: A recent study conducted by the American Association for Cancer Research linked loss of sleep to increased cancer risks, according to a story in Reuters.
And here's the scary part: Even for those who take precautions and preventive actions that have been proven to lower cancer risks (such as exercising and eating right), inadequate sleep seems to counteract those benefits. Of course, more research needs to be done to figure out just why sleep deprivation makes people more susceptible not only to cancer, but also to other diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease -- not to mention a host of physical and emotional problems such as obesity and depression.
But, regardless of the exact causal link, the bottom line is still the same: Don't shirk on the shut-eye! Aim for at least seven hours a night.