Who wants to be healthy, you need adequate sleep: A good night’s sleep can cause inflammation, anxiety, and diseases such as Alzheimer’s or cancer prevention. But how is it then that some people can cope with extremely little sleep? Researchers from the USA might have the answer.
Tons of E-Mails flooded in 2009, the post input of Ying-Hui Fu, a biologist at the University of California. Includes a wide range of people, with only a few hours of sleep and to feel healthy and energetic claimed. Together with her fiance, Louis Ptáček, had discovered the researcher previously, a mutation in the gene, which is responsible for a reduction in the number of hours that someone needs to sleep, clearly.
New gene discovered – researchers have few sets of new study
In order to investigate the question of why some people need less sleep than others, put on the Pair of a new study. In order to get first results, to have taken the researchers two of the men interviewed, and blood samples of The subjects, father and son, had claimed, with less than six hours of sleep per night to get along.
The results of the investigation were now in an article in the "Science Translational Medicine" published. The scientists speak of a newly discovered gene mutation, which helps you to understand the regulation of sleep by the human body. So far, only two gene mutations were known.
The researchers suggest, however, that there is still more: "We don’t know how the different genes work together to sleep regulieren", Fu explained. Each new discovery contributes, however, to get a deeper understanding of the effect of the genes.
Scientists are testing the theory on mice
To make further inferences, draw, pre-bred by the scientists, mice with the newly discovered gene mutation. And indeed, The animals slept significantly shorter than mice without the Mutation. Even more interesting is the following: in Order to test whether the memory ability of the animals will be influenced by the sleep deprivation, exposed mice to random shocks.
In the normal case, sleepy mouse would be able to the next day not to the shock recall. However, when the mutant animals were placed in the space in which the electric shock exposed to had been, they were timid.
Sleep regulation in the body is much more complex
The discovery of this gene mutation, according to Luis Lecea, a biologist from Stanford, "a System for the regulation of the Schlafs" contributions. The scientists, however, would "still don’t know how important it sei".
Fu believed that the Mutation, helping to make people more efficient sleep. However, the results of the study could also have a positive impact on people with such a Mutation: the investigation could serve as a basis for the development of drugs for sleepless people.
It is your deck at heart, "to help every person better to schlafen", Fu said. So the researcher wanted to focus on the long-sleepers who need between ten and twelve hours of sleep per night. They hope to discover as soon as possible new gene mutations.
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