You may literally have to add it to your to-do list, but scheduling a good night’s sleep could be one of the smartest health priorities you set. It’s not just daytime drowsiness you risk when shortchanging yourself on your seven to eight hours. Possible health consequences of getting too little or poor sleep can involve the cardiovascular, endocrine, immune, and nervous systems. In addition to letting life get in the way of good sleep, between 50 and 70 million Americans suffer from a chronic sleep disorder—insomnia or sleep apnea, say—that affects daily functioning and impinges on health. Consider the research:

1) Less may mean more. For people who sleep under seven hours a night, the fewer zzzz’s they get, the more obese they tend to be, according to a 2006 Institute of Medicine report. This may relate to the discovery that insufficient sleep appears to tip hunger hormones out of whack. Leptin, which suppresses appetite, is lowered; ghrelin, which stimulates appetite, gets a boost.

2) You’re more apt to make bad food choices. A study published this week in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that people with obstructive sleep apnea or other severely disordered breathing while asleep ate a diet higher in cholesterol, protein, total fat, and total saturated fat. Women were especially affected.

3) Diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance, its precursor, may become more likely. A 2005 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that people getting five or fewer hours of sleep each night were 2.5 times more likely to be diabetic, while those with six hours or fewer were 1.7 times more likely.

4) The ticker is put at risk. A 2003 study found that heart attacks were 45 percent more likely in women who slept for five or fewer hours per night than in those who got more.

5) Blood pressure may increase. Obstructive sleep apnea, for example, has been associated with chronically elevated daytime blood pressure, and the more severe the disorder, the more significant the hypertension, suggests the 2006 IOM report. Obesity plays a role in both disorders, so losing weight can ease associated health risks.

6) Auto accidents rise. As stated in a 2007 report in the New England Journal of Medicine, nearly 20 percent of serious car crash injuries involve a sleepy driver—and that’s independent of alcohol use.

7) Balance is off. Older folks who have trouble getting to sleep, who wake up at night, or are drowsy during the day could be 2 to 4.5 times more likely to sustain a fall, found a 2007 study in the Journal of Gerontology.

8) You may be more prone to depression. Adults who chronically operate on fumes report more mental distress, depression, and alcohol use. Adolescents suffer, too: One survey of high school students found similarly high rates of these issues. Middle schoolers, too, report more symptoms of depression and lower self-esteem.

9) Kids may suffer more behavior problems. Research from an April issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine found that children who are plagued by insomnia, short duration of sleeping, or disordered breathing with obesity, for example, are more likely to have behavioral issues like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

10) Death’s doorstep may be nearer. Those who get five hours or less per night have approximately 15 percent greater risk of dying—regardless of the cause—according to three large population-based studies published in the journals Sleep and the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Some time ago, I was walking through the mall the and I came across one of those free newspapers that had the oddest cover story. Not being one to back down from an interesting piece of journalism, I grabbed the paper and continued on my journey. Once I got home, I opened it up and was shocked and disgusted by what the stories inside had to tell me. Here’s a few facts and figures to stoke your brain even though I’d rather you found the paper and read for yourself. Black women make up about 6% of the population in this country but they account for more than 68% of HIV/AIDS cases. Over 50% of HIV/AIDS in black males are in men who have sex with men. That’s a 19% increase since 1989. In a recent study of nearly 3,500 young gay and bisexual men, 1 in 6 reported having sex with women and nearly 25% had unprotected sex with a woman. In surveys of men who have sex with men, between 15% and 30% of black men indentified as bisexual. About 14% of black men who have sex with men in one survey reported that their main sexual partner was a woman. In an Atlanta study of black women, 70% perceived themselves as having little or no risk of contracting HIV/AIDS, even though 45% hadn’t used a condom in the past 2 months and 60% didn’t know their partners HIV status. Basically what it all means is that men living this “lifestyle” are one of main reasons for the rampant spreadin of HIV/AIDS in the black community. For those that don’t know (which is hard to fathom), a man who is living on the DL is defined as a man who indentifies himself as a straight man but has sex with men. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that in my eyes, but there is a definite problem when these men don’t protect themselves and won’t disclose their double-edged lifestyle to their partners. What the %#&@$! is with that?! How can anyone be that insensitive and selfish? Not only is their choice of activities dangerous to them, but also to the people they’re involved with and everyone that they become involved with. What makes these guys feel like they have to hide who they are? Why do we make our brothers feel like they can’t come out of the closet if that’s who they really are? And what makes us as a people be so subconsciously self-destructive? Please y’all, hit me up and let me know what’s going through your minds on this one. Peace and love y’all!