Sleep and Genetics

The reason why you can't sleep could be linked to your genetics. There is new research that shows a specific mutation that changes the circadian rhythm of genes that carry it. A person's circadian rhythm is a 24 hour cycle of the physiological processes, which include sleep and wake cycles. However, many people suffer from disrupted sleep patterns, one being delayed sleep phase disorder (DSPD), which is the inability to get to sleep early. DSPD delays hormones, especially in melatonin levels. Also, the hormones necessary to transition into the sleep phase of the cycle is inhibited due to an overactivity of the protein that produces it, that is caused by the mutation in a gene called CRY1.
It was found that most individuals who had the gene mutation had delayed sleep patterns.

More research like this can allow for a greater understanding of disrupted sleep patterns, which can lead to the development of new drugs to combat it.

Article: https://newatlas.com/gene-explains-night-owl-sleep/48902/
Original Study: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180309095520.htm

Researchers at 23andMe Determine Sleeping In Longer is Genetic

Figure 1. An adorable sleeping baby

23andMe has recently utilized their database to analyze 89,000 DNA sequences of people to determine if waking up early or sleeping in late is due to genetics. In addition to analyzing the DNA sequences, the profiles of each participant was analyzed to determine there characteristics such as sex, age, and illnesses. Through this data, the researchers have come to the conclusion that people that are female, are over 60 years old or are not suffering from insomnia are more likely to not stay up late and feel fine with waking up early. The opposite characteristics were true with people who stayed up late and slept in longer. However, this data is not 100% conclusive due to the fact that only people of European descent were studied, but it does provide substantial evidence due the vast number of participants.

I have always believed that this trait to be due to genetics, and I am not surprised that the data collected by 23andMe supports it. It would be interesting to see the if the researches would eventually be able to create better drugs to help people go to sleep and feel well rested when they wake. Or the possibility of a "Power Nap" pill where it would make a 30 minute nap equivalent to an 8 hour sleep. This would have a heavy impact on how the world worked because people would be able to work more and longer and still have many more hours in the day for family and spending the extra money they are making which would in turn boost the economy. This is a bit of a far fetched idea, but I believe we are one step closer to it with the new findings of the researchers.

Chrono, the last piece of the circadian clock puzzle?

This article talks about how all organisms have a daily cycles that are regulated by the circadian clock. This internal clock is best known for its ability to be influenced by exposure to light which controls the wake-sleep cycle. The clock that controls such an activity is controlled by genes and proteins that interact and turn each other on and off based on the environment.

A team from RIKEN, Hiroshima University, and University of Michigan conducted a study in order to uncover a missing component. The researchers decided to perform a genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis for genes that target a core component of the clock genes, called BMAL1. From this, the authors discovered a new circadian gene which functions as a transcriptional repressor of the negative feedback loop in the mammalian clock. This protein, which they named CHRONO, was shown to alter the expression of core clock genes in mice that lacked the gene. This resulted in longer circadian cycles.

The article also states that the study demonstrated "that the repression mechanism of CHRONO is under epigenetic control and links, via a glucocorticoid receptor, to metabolic pathways triggered by behavioral stress."

The sleep cycle is not well understood in the scientific world, and while this research doesn't pinpoint exactly why we sleep it does offer some preliminary insight on the mechanisms of why we sleep when we do and how the mechanisms function as a unit to control the internal clock. Continuing research could reveal some interesting findings of our circadian clock and sleep cycles.