Of the 3.7 million e-mails that found their way into my inbox this past week, one actually captured my interest. And it had nothing to do with "V1@gr@," cheap meds from Canada or earning a free iPod.
The subject line read: "The Dream Diet: Losing Weight While You Sleep."
Surprisingly, it wasn't an ad about some magical pill that would melt fat away while you're studying the back of your eyelids. It was a WebMD Weight Loss Clinic article that inferred exactly what it said — you snooze, you lose.
Turns out, Vitamin Zzzz are potentially the miracle medicine.
Kinda gives new meaning to the phrase "light sleeper."
This would be great news to me if (1) we didn't have a newborn in the house; (2) I wasn't writing this column at 1:29 a.m.; and (3) I could find that darn bottle of NyQuil. Speaking of which, I'm now expecting a new diet version that advertises itself as being "The Nighttime, Sniffling, Sneezing, Coughing, Aching, Stuffy-head, Fever, So-You-Can-Rest AND Peel-Off-The-Pounds Medicine."
So if you see me dozing off at work, at church or during Weight Watchers meetings, please don't wake me up. I'll be reducing my waist by increasing my winks. Forget counting calories, I'm counting sheep.
This whole concept makes sense really. Up the dozing dosage, ditch the midnight snacking and 3 a.m. trips to the Taco Bell Drive-Thru and lose weight.
If you want to decrease unsightly love handles even quicker, take mealtime power naps.
Apparently, missing meals isn't the key to the shuteye weight-loss program. What's important, according to the article, are the hormones leptin and ghrelin, which, of course, are the distant cousins of snackin' and gainin'.
Ghrelin comes from the gastrointestinal tract and stimulates appetite. It's the beast in the belly, which explains why it sorta rhymes with villain and reminds me it's about that time of year to start grillin'.
Then you have leptin, a hormone produced in fat cells that tells your brain when you're full.
My leptins apparently lost their voices back when I was in high school. And I need to buy some muzzles for my ghrelins.
Anyway, Dr. Michael Breus, the director of The Sleep Disorders Centers of Southeastern Lung Care in Atlanta, was quoted as saying that lack of sleep drives leptin down, so you don't feel as satisfied after you eat. At the same time, the substandard snoozing causes ghrelin and appetite levels to feel like they haven't eaten since two Tuesdays ago.
Numerous studies showed that those who sleep less than eight hours a night have lower levels of leptin, higher levels of ghrelin and more body fat than the long-slumbering subjects.
People who get a lot of shuteye but suffer from sleep apnea, and thus don't get as much real rest, are more apt to gain weight, the report also stated. But when treated for the apnea, patients often shed pounds.
Breus noticed that when people aren't as tired they don't rely nearly as much on sweet foods and high carbohydrate snacks to keep them awake. That translates into eating fewer calories, having more energy and gaining less fat.
Experts also recommend exercise and eating control.
All in all, it's a theory I'm willing to sleep on.
Jody Genessy's weight-loss column appears the first Friday of every month.
E-mail: jody@desnews.com