Ancient Genes, Modern Mornings: The surprising Link in Our DNA
Evgeniya Staleva
BIOL- 2100-001- Genetics
Professor Guy F. Barbato
November 24, 2025
According to a recent study, Neanderthals are biologically oriented towards being morning people, and some modern humans might have the predisposition to it, by way of inheritance, of ancient genes. Comparisons were made between the DNA of living humans and the genetic material obtained from Neanderthal and Denisovan fossils. They found out that both groups of extinct hominins have variants in genes that deal with the circadian clock genes governing daytime sleep and wake cycles (Zimmer, 2023). These forms are very close to contemporary human beings who stick to the early riser category.
Neanderthals and Denisovans inhabited the higher latitudes, in which there is a great fluctuation in daylight hours across seasons. Their circadian rhythms could have evolved over thousands of years to be fit to live in seasons when it is long and dark in the summer, and long and light in the winter. There were some advantageous genes in these populations of a so-called morning person. Some of these genes were transmitted to modern humans when they left Africa and interbred.
The researchers analysed 246 genes of the body clock and discovered more than 1000 mutations that are human or Neanderthal. Most of these mutations must have altered the mechanism of activity of body-clock proteins (Zimmer, 2023). They also found that nearly all the variants of Neanderthals, which increased the probability of a person being a morning person, when ancient genetic variants of these same variants were tested in the UK Biobank.
Even though the research is largely founded on British genetic information, the results could inform us about the role of ancient adaptation in contemporary behavior and well-being. The knowledge of these hereditary factors associated with circadian powers can assist researchers to address the contemporary disturbances inherent to sleep disorders, including shift workers, artificial light exposure, and other health concerns associated with sleep issues. It is the hope of researchers to continue to extend the study to more varied populations and to continue to discuss the impact of ancient DNA on human biology.
Intriguingly, the habits of our modern generations to sleep are due to the genes that were handed over to our generation by our predecessors who lived tens of thousands of years ago. This research demonstrates that evolution, genetics, and the behavior of ordinary people interact closely, and it will provide useful information that can be applied in promoting the health of sleep in modern society.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/14/science/neanderthal-sleep-morning-people.html?smid=url-
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5630192/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
