loose all your fat! the laziest way..well ok! lets see .

As strange as it may sound, recent studies show those well-intentioned 6.00am early morning runs could be making you fat. A controversial way to start a fitness article I know, but scientists from the University of Chicago have discovered not getting enough sleep could "hormonally handicap" you in your quest for a six-pack. Put simply, interrupting your body's natural sleep pattern also interrupts your body's natural fat burning hormones.

For this exact reason there is no shame in being "strategically lazy." In fact it's an art form and could be the best kept secret in fitness since it requires no money, no gym and no protein shakes-just a warm and comfortable bed with absolutely no alarm clock. Ultimately, if your goal is to lose fat then reading this article, unplugging your alarm clock and having a long lie-in this Sunday could be the best possible thing you could do, and here's why.

Back in 1994 the world of science was shaken by the discovery of a powerful new fat-regulating hormone. It's called leptin and-whilst researchers openly admit they've only just scratched the surface with their understanding of it-it's been found to have a profound effect on everything from your appetite to how much fat you store. To quote the Journal of Neurochemistry, "leptin is well known as a hormone important in the central control of appetitive behaviours." Again put more simply-master leptin and you master your appetite, cravings and body fat.

Thankfully you'll be pleased to hear that good quality sleep is one of the best ways to improve the body's leptin levels-as proven by the aforementioned study at the University of Chicago. Researchers took 12 healthy men aged 22 to 30 and then closely monitored their calorie intake, appetite and hunger during two days of "sleep restriction" and two days of "sleep extension".

Amazingly what they discovered was during the two days when subjects were allowed only four hours sleep, leptin levels decreased by 18 per cent, which resulted in an increase in appetite by 23 per cent. Scientists also noted this increase in appetite was, "especially for calorie-dense foods with a high carbohydrate content" like sweets and junk food.

Finally, what's interesting, is they also reported a 28 per cent increase in a hormone called ghrelin. This is known as the body's "hunger hormone" since it's produced by the stomach and signals to the brain whether we're hungry or not. To use a sporting analogy, this is like leptin and ghrelin are in a tug of war competition and the outcome will determine whether you demolish the contents of that cookie jar in your cupboard or not.

This gives rise to the idea that your cravings-and inability to stick to a diet-actually has very little to do with will power and discipline. In reality, should you not get enough sleep then your body will be in a form of biological disarray and you'll find yourself being lead to the cake aisle by the elevated ghrelin that's being churned around your stomach.

In summary are thinner people fonder of their beds? The answer is possibly yes. To conclude with the findings of a University of Texas study, scientists took over 1,000 pairs of twins to examine how sleep influences weight. They found, "shorter sleep duration is associated with increased body weight. At the same time, longer sleep duration may suppress genetic influences on body weight."

The authors also reported over the past century sleep deprivation has dropped by 1.5 hours a night. Plus, since 2001 the percentage of US adults getting at least 8 hours sleep a night has fallen from 38 per cent to 27 per cent. A coincidence as obesity figures continue to rise in direct correlation? Personally I think not. So if you take nothing else from this article-please buck this trend, turn off your alarm clock this weekend and enjoy a form of hormonal harmony that's conducive to losing fat.