SATURDAY, June 13, (News Locale) - A good night's sleep is a powerful tonic to help you get through the day on full energy. Turns out sleep also plays an important role in maintaining normal weight in individuals, according to a study by researchers at the University of Washington Sleep Institute, Seattle.

The study analyzed the sleep habits of 1,797 twins with a mean age of 36.8 years. It emerged that twins who slept between 7 and 8.9 hours each night had a mean Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25.0 kg/m2. This compared favorably to the BMI of 25.2 kg/m2 in twins who slept more and BMI of 26.4 kg/m2 in twins who slept less per night.

This link between sleep duration and BMI remained even when genetics and shared environment were taken into consideration.

"Findings of the study point towards an environmental cause of the relationship between sleep duration and BMI," said lead author Nathaniel Watson, MD, co-director at the University of Washington Sleep Institute. "Results were robust enough to be present when the sample was limited to identical twins."

The details of the study were presented at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) recommends that adults get between seven and eight hours of nightly sleep. Some of the things you can do to get good sleep include:

* Establish a relaxing setting at bedtime.

* Avoid foods or drinks that contain caffeine before going to bed

* Follow a consistent bedtime routine.

* Do not go to bed hungry

* Do not exercise within six hours of your bedtime.

* Do not take your worries to sleep with you.