Posted on 03/15/2022 10:36:20 PM PDT by House Atreides
Some people are gifted with genes that pack the benefits of slumber into an efficient time window, keeping them peppy on only four or six hours of sleep a night, according to researchers at UC San Francisco. In addition, the scientists said, these “elite sleepers” show psychological resilience and resistance to neurodegenerative conditions that may point the way to fending off neurological disease.
“There’s a dogma in the field that everyone needs eight hours of sleep, but our work to date confirms that the amount of sleep people need differs based on genetics,” said neurologist Louis Ptacek, MD, one of the senior authors on the study, which appears in iScience on March 15. “Think of it as analogous to height; there’s no perfect amount of height, each person is different. We’ve shown that the case is similar for sleep.”
For over a decade, Ptacek and co-senior author, Ying-Hui Fu, PhD, both members of the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, have been studying people with Familial Natural Short Sleep (FNSS), the ability to function fully on – and have a preference for – four to six hours of sleep a night. They’ve shown that it runs in families and, thus far have identified five genes across the genome that play a role in enabling this efficient sleep. There are still many more FNSS genes to find, the researchers said….
… Despite the long road ahead, there’s already promise in some of the few genes they’ve identified. At least one of them can be targeted with existing drugs that might be repurposed. Their hope is that within the next decade, they’ll have helped facilitate new treatments that allow people with brain disorders to get a better night’s rest….
(Excerpt) Read more at ucsf.edu ...
For those with an interest in looking at this deeper, below is a link to the study paper that this thread’s article discusses.
https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(22)00234-6
Hot link for the “cold” link in comment 1 above:
https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(22)00234-6
You cannot offset the handicap of low quality sleep by sleeping longer.
Churchill comes to mind. Apparently 2 or 3 hours
“ Think of it as analogous to height; there’s no perfect amount of height…”
Sorry, 6’3” is the perfect height, and 6.75 hrs of sleep is also perfect.
Haha, my markers indicate all the possibilities, so either I’m highly adaptable or whatever sleep pattern I choose is sure to be wrong.
I deal with “non restorative sleep”. It is not fun.
My brother and I are basically night hawks - 4 hours of sleep is not unusual and 6 or more rare. I also see this in both my grown sons.
I also believe that about Trump. He could handle that 3 AM phone call no problem.
Many parts of the world have “nap” or “siesta” time built into the workday.
I function much better on a few hours nighttime sleep along with a decent nap or three.
I do fine on four or five hours. Maybe once a week my body gives in to a restorative eight. I am usually in bed by nine, asleep by ten, and let it happen until I wake up naturally. It makes me late for work a couple times a year. My coworkers think it’s hilarious because I’m always so early.
Alcohol disturbs deep sleep.
“Elite Sleeper”
I foresee a new MyPillow commercial in the near future.
My Pillow is reduced to $19.95 in a saturated market.
Elite Pillow made from all American Fabulous New Stuff is $39.06 with 20 year guarantee and free delivery
My Mother and I have this gift. I really don’t need more than 4 to 5 hours of sleep a night with no groggy feelings.
It most certainly does.
In all the years that I was bending the elbow I never slept.
I passed out and came to.
God. Am I glad I don’t live like that anymore.
Lost some good friends over the years because of booze.
I believe Napoleon slept 4 or less hours.
Nasty stuff for certain people. Two friends are past tense now.
Thanks lockdown…
I guess Churchill was an outlier on that one.
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