Can't Sleep? Blame Your Genes

A recent article published in "Medical News Today" claims that insomnia may run in the family. According to the article, a person's genetics have a strong influence over whether or not they will suffer from insomnia. A 2015 study conducted on both identical and nonidentical twins at VCU discovered that, usually, if one twin has insomnia, the other twin is more likely to suffer from insomnia as well. Because identical twins share the same DNA, this suggests that there likely is one or more genes that cause or can be linked to insomnia. With this information, the next step has become identifying what specific genes have a correlation with insomnia. Multiple studies have been able to isolate a few of the genes that lead to insomnia. The data also suggests that there are genes that are exclusive to men and women that can affect one's sleep habits. One large study of the genome of over one million insomniacs has found about 956 genes across 202 locations on various chromosomes that possess some kind of link to insomnia, while a second, smaller study found 57 locations. Most of these genes affect the development of various parts of the brain associated with processing external stimuli. This may be contributing to the restlessness associated to the inability to fall asleep. However, this article also clarifies that genetics alone does not lead to insomnia, as stress levels and different lifestyles can contribute toward insomnia as well.

I found the relationship between genetics and insomnia somewhat surprising. In the past, I thought of insomnia as a symptom rather than a disorder. I thought that if you had one night where you could not fall asleep, than that night you suffered from insomnia. I did not view insomnia as a persistent disorder or disease, which it technically is. While insomnia can be broken down into acute or chronic, I believe the fact that it can be genetic makes me view insomnia more as a disease. Despite the fact that treatments such as sleeping pills already exist, I believe that this increased knowledge about insomnia and how it can be caused will lead to better, healthier solutions to the long, sleepless nights that many humans find themselves afflicted with.

Gene Affecting the Ability to Sleep Discovered in Fruit Flies

A recent study has found a new gene, called insomniac, in fruit flies that helps to keep us asleep. Genes are important for sleep because they control what makes us tired and able to fall asleep.  The researchers at the Rockefeller Center cloned and tested this gene in fruit flies to see the effects of it on sleep. A genetic screening of 21,000 fruit flies was conducted by Nicholas Stavropoulos, Michael W. Young, and Richard and Jeanne Fisher Professor and head of the Laboratory of Genetics. They used infrared beams detect when the flies fall asleep, and discovered that mutations in the insomniac gene corresponded with a dramatic reduction in sleep. A typical fruit fly sleeps for an average of 927 minutes a day, and the insomniac flies slept for 317 minutes each day. The time periods slept by the insomniac flies were also shorter than the normal flies, and they also woke up more frequently.

The researchers think that insomniac works by functions in protein degradation pathways in neurons through a complex called Cul3. If this is proven true, this would be the first time protein degradation will be linked to sleep. This study is relevant to humans because even though humans may not have much in common with the flies when it comes to lifestyle, the scientists say that their mechanisms for sleep and wakefulness are very similar. Stavropoulos says, "This work gives us several new clues about how sleep is controlled at the molecular level, and could prove useful in understanding and treating sleep disorders."

[caption id="attachment_5086" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="A fruit fly's nervous system shows individual cells that express the insomniac gene in green. (Credit: Rockefeller University)"][/caption]