One more reason to get at least seven hours nightly? The simple carbs you can't help but love—soda, pasta, the deep-fried pretzel dog—would be (well, not exactly healthy but)
less harmful than when you're sleep-deprived. Even one night of shortened sleep decreases our ability to clear glucose from the blood—by up to 25 percent—found researchers at Leiden University in the Netherlands. After six years of mild sleep deprivation, volunteers in a SUNY Buffalo study were
three times likelier to have abnormal blood sugar levels—on the slippery slope to diabetes.
