Metro - DSCN8782 ep  All the work our body does during sleep is
still a mystery. We are just beginning to understand some of the
reasons sleep is so important to us. There are many ways that
lack of sleep affects our functioning and our health.  1.
 Obesity.  One study found that by age 27, those who sleep less
than six hours a night are 7.5 times more likely to have an
unhealthy Body Mass Index, and other studies support the
connection between short sleep hours and being overweight.  The
connection is related to the effect of sleep loss on the
hormones that control appetite.                .  2.  The
ability to make decisions, even simple ones, or recall obvious
facts drops off severely.  For example, exhaustion appears to be
related to numerous tragedies and accidents that occur in the
military and in the private sector.  Investigations into the
March 2005 refinery explosion in Texas City, a suburb of
Houston, found many reasons for the explosion, including workers
who were so sleep-deprived that their brai