Erratic Sleepers Have More Health Problems: Study

Irregular sleep habits increase the likelihood of obesity and smoking, the AP reports. The CDC surveyed 87,000 Americans over 2 years and found that individuals who sleep fewer than 6 hours a night or more than 9 were 5% to 10% more likely to smoke and 4% to 11% more likely to be obese than those who slept 6 to 9 hours.

"The data is all coming together that short sleepers and long sleepers don't do so well," said a spokesman for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. "We're getting to the point that they may start recommending getting enough sleep as a standard approach to weight loss and the prevention of obesity," said a Columbia University sleep researcher. (More sleep stories.)