Gene Mutation & Sleep

It’s surprising that 40% of Americans are sleep-deprived and many get less than 5 hours of sleep per night. This costs money as it includes reduced productivity and an increased risk of serious accidents. The tired drivers on the road are as dangerous as those who are drunk or drugged. Skimping on sleep will decimate your health in many different ways in addition to raising your risk of accidents. This lack of sleep is a public health epidemic and the insufficient sleep has been linked to a wide variety of health problems.

A condition called advanced phase sleep syndrome is a genetic mutation that actually allows a person to be fully rested after as little as four to six hours of sleep. Ying-Hi Fu, Ph.D., a professor at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine studies the genetic basis for humans who have shorter sleep duration. In a 2009 study, investigating a mother and daughter with this rare gift, they found a genetic mutation on a specific gene transcription facilitator that may be responsible. Researchers believe that DEC2 appears to induce more efficient sleep with more intense REM states and is the primary reason why people with advanced phase sleep syndrome can thrive on so little sleep with no ill health effects.

The people with this genetic mutation often have two jobs at a time because they are highly motivated and not because they have to. They can do this because they require so little sleep. It is estimated that 1 in 10,000 people may be genetically predisposed to short sleep. For the rest of us, a good 8 hours of sleep is needed each night to reach that optimal health and wellness.

Some people are short sleepers; some who reported daytime dysfunction and others who claimed to function optimally. They had brain connectivity patterns that were more typical of sleep while in a scanner, opposed to patterns suggesting wakefulness. This suggests the short-sleepers were nodding off even though they’d been told to stay awake during the scan.

Three types of short sleepers are those who have a sleep disorder, those who falsely believe they don’t need much sleep and true short sleepers who can thrive and function due to their genetic makeup.

Some risks associated with sleep deprivation are increased risk of car accidents, increased accidents at work, reduced ability to perform tasks, reduced ability to learn or remember, reduced productivity at work, reduced creativity at work on in other activities, reduced athletic performance, increased risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity, cancer, high blood pressure, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease, increased risk of depression, increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, decreased immune function, slowed reaction time, reduced regulation of emotions and emotional perception, poor grades in school, increased susceptibility to stomach ulcers, exacerbates current chronic diseases, cutting one hour of sleep a night increases the expression of genes associated with inflammation, immune excitability, diabetes, cancer risk and stress and contributes to premature aging by interfering with growth hormone production.

Beware of those LED’s that can not only promote age-related macular degeneration but can interrupt your circadian clock and melatonin levels at night, being responsible for how deeply you sleep and well-rested you feel the next day. In this day and age of rush, wouldn’t it be great if we could all get by with 4 to 6 hours of sleep a night?

–Dr Fredda Branyon