Scientists Find Rare Gene Behind Short Sleepers

[steven johnson]

Finally an explanation for all of those people in college who could party all night and function the next day.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Scientists have discovered a gene that helps a mother and daughter stay alert on about six hours sleep a night, two hours less than the rest of their family needs.

It's believed to be a very rare mutation, not an excuse for the rest of us who stay up too late. But the finding, published in Friday's edition of the journal Science, offers a new lead to study how sleep affects health.

The National Institutes of Health says adults need seven hours to nine hours of sleep for good health. Regularly getting too little increases the risk of health problems, including memory impairment and a weakened immune system. A major 2006 study estimated that as many as 30 million Americans suffer chronic insomnia, and millions more have other sleep disorders, including sleep apnea.

University of California, San Francisco, researchers have long hunted genes related to how and when people sleep. In 2001, they discovered a mutation that puts its carriers' sleep patterns out of whack: These people regularly go to bed around 7:30 p.m. and wake around 3:30 a.m.

Scientists Find Rare Gene Behind Short Sleepers

[stevedeshazer]

1. My boss

Exactly. Sleeps from 9 pm to 4 am. Wakes up fresh as a daisy.

Me, I need nine hours.

:hangover:

[Historic NY]

3. It all depends when I go out..many insomniac nights probably from yrs of shift work

some days its only 4hrs other I sleep in a shift 3-4 hrs at time, that sucks.

[Warpy]

5. Same here, every third night is a lousy one

after 6 years of trying to get my sleep patterns sorted out.

[Historic NY]

6. Tylenol PM, Melatonin Booze, etc.. it always the same....

I got worse after 911, getting up to check if the country was okay. You do know thats a big job.

[Warpy]

8. Tylenol PM and melatonin won't hurt you

but there's nothing like booze to disturb your sleep patterns and guarantee you don't get more than 3-4 hours of shallow sleep.

Opiates are just as bad. You don't get either deep sleep or adequate REM sleep on the suckers, which is why I never take pain meds at night other than Tylenol.

[valerief]

2. Clicked link but

:boring:

[CoffeeCat]

4. I have sleep apnea...

...and I never knew how important sleep was, until I became totally sleep deprived.

I've had sleep apnea for three years, and didn't know it. My doctor gave me every
test under the sun, but never mentioned sleep disorders or sleep apnea.

Finally, my ob-gyn suggested that I do a sleep study. Turns out, I stop breathing
52 times per hour--sometimes for 20 seconds. Each time that happens, my brain goes
into panic mode and kicks me out of sleep. My sleep study showed that I get the
equivalent of 36 mins of sleep a night.

I was so out of it the past year, I thought I might have Alzheimer's. I would forget
where I was driving and I rarely finished a sentence--just couldn't find the words.

This is a seriously under-diagnosed problem, and I'm so glad I finally found the answer!

I've been on CPAP for five days and I feel so much better. I'm not 100 percent, but
I'm exciting about getting there within the next few months.

I'm convinced that I would have been dead in a few years, if I had gone untreated. Not
having enough sleep is lethal.

[sofa king]

7. That still doesn't quite explain those who need even less than that.

Famous 3-hour sleepers include James Longstreet, Josef Stalin, and John Gruden. Stalin in particular appears to have lived in his office for months at a time, sleeping on a cot in the corner.