Imagine going to bed and just snoozing off the extra pounds. That's the fantasy American obesity doctor Caroline Apovian of the Boston Medical Center seems to be selling with her new diet, "The Overnight Diet," that will supposedly help you slim while you snooze. Okay, it's not as simple as going all Dorothy Gale, squeezing your eyes shut, and wishing you weighed less. Apovian advises a one week protocol that apparently can help people lose up to two pounds per night. Uh, yeah, suuuuure.

All right, sure, as crazy as it sounds, I know you still want to know what the plan entails ...

Health research makes my brain go bonkers. One second those fancy schmancy science types are telling us that exercising before bed is bad. Now, they're telling us that it doesn't matter one bit. A new study says that it doesn't matter what time you work out, just that you do. According the National Sleep Foundation's 2013 Sleep in America poll, people that work out get a better night's sleep than people who don't, even if they got the same amount of sleep. Hmmm, interesting.

It makes sense, doesn't it? Exercising is good for you. Sleep is good for you. Getting enough of both, well, that's important. Regardless, I'm done listening to these studies about WHEN is the best time to exercise because all they do is contradict one another. As someone who does it roughly 4 to 5 times per week, I'm gonna tell you that just getting out there and doing it is all that matters.

A recent study shows that when we don’t get enough sleep, it actually alters our genes, and can lead to degenerative disorders. When we sleep, our bodies get to work repairing themselves, and if we don’t let them, it can damage our immune systems. Our cells have to replenish and replace themselves, and sleepy cells don’t like to work.

Lead researcher Colin Smith said, “There was quite a dramatic change in activity in many different kinds of genes … clearly sleep is critical to rebuilding the body and maintaining a functional state, all kinds of damage appears to occur—hinting at what may lead to ill health. If we can't actually replenish and replace new cells, then that's going to lead to degenerative diseases."

I don't know about you, but it's not the ticking of my biological clock that haunts my dreams, it's my circadian clock. You know, the body's complex internal timer that somehow controls our entire phyiscal and mental well-being BUT is extremely easy to screw up? By sleeping in or getting up early or staying up late or going to bed early or breathing, it seems?! Well, turns out there's yet another way you're probably maybe messing with your circadian clock. According to a recent study, the best time to exercise is in the afternoon, because early morning and late night workouts set your circadian alarm right off, and that's a bad thing (assuming you don't particularly feel like increasing your risk for "diabetes, obesity, certain types of cancer, memory loss and mood disorders, including depression.")

Granted, this theory is currently based on animal research, but I believe it. Based on my own personal ill-timed exercise experiences.

Who's tired? If you raised your hand, or couldn't find the energy to raise your hand, you are not alone. Between work, kids, and the myriad of other obligations, we're all exhausted. Yet, our to-do list does not make allowances for the daily nap. It's time to kick start your energy reserves!

Instead of pumping caffeine into your body, there are ways to feel alert and alive in a way that does not involve chemicals. Here are 8 ways you can boost your energy, naturally.

Early to bed, early to rise, early to ... die?! Well, maybe. While conducting research on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients over the age of 65, scientists made a sort of accidental discovery: Subjects who tended to be "early-risers" also tended to die just before 11 a.m.; "late-risers," on the other hand, tended to die just before 6 p.m. Coincidence? Nope. Apparently the same gene responsible for making people either early birds or night owls can also predict time of death. Um, creepy much?!

I guess this shouldn't come as any big surprise. As the lead researcher puts it, "The internal 'biological clock' regulates many aspects of human biology and behavior." But in this case, at least, is our clock telling us more than we need to know?

Everyone seems to be in dire need of a good night's sleep. Or, at the very least, everyone I've spoken to. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say how exhausted they are and how desperate for a solid night of shut-eye.

It's no surprise that we all crave sleep so much. It's the one chance each day we have to completely relax and awake at least semi-rejuvenated.

But did you know how much our bodies and minds actually depend on a good night's sleep? Did you know that a full night's sleep is important to all aspects of your health? It's true.

Here are the most shocking health benefits of sleep.

When our second daughter was born nearly five years after our first, my husband and I were mentally prepared for months of sleep deprivation. Our firstborn had been colicky, and didn’t sleep through the night for nearly a year.

There was a large age gap for a reason, people.

One night, when our baby daughter was four weeks old, we both woke in a panic in the wee hours of the morning, having slept through the night. We jumped out of bed to the cradle in the corner, hearts in our throats -- and there she lay, sleeping peacefully. Confused, we looked at each other and one of us said, “Maybe she’s our consolation prize.”