

A Gene That Makes You Need Less Sleep? - danso
http://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/a-gene-makes-you-need-less-sleep

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tokenadult
"Of course, as Pack himself is quick to point out, even combined with Fu’s
data the mutation sample remains miniscule. So now, in an international
collaboration with existing sleep-study cohorts spanning the U.K., South
Korea, and China, Pack is in the process of gaining access to somewhere
between half a million and a million participants. The next step is to
sequence the twenty or so CLOCK genes (the genes that are involved in
regulating circadian rhythms) that have been identified, to look for both the
mutations Fu and Pack have found and any new variants that may affect sleep
physiology."

Prediction: like all other human behavioral traits, sleep length will turn out
to be influenced by multiple genes, each with small effect. That is the
consistent finding of all human behavior genetics research in the genome-wide-
association-study era.[1]

[1]
[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3778125/](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3778125/)

[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3498585/](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3498585/)

[http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/01/16/1322563111](http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/01/16/1322563111)

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nmjohn
> Prediction: like all other human behavioral traits, sleep length will turn
> out to be influenced by multiple genes, each with small effect. That is the
> consistent finding of all human behavior genetics research in the genome-
> wide-association-study era.

You are 100% correct. I cannot think of a single behavioral attribute that has
any correlation with only a single gene. Physical traits and diseases,
absolutely, many are associated with just a single gene.

However! Your comment comes across to me like because it won't be just a
single gene what's the point? Well because science is an incredibly iterative
process and finding the first gene then leads to the second, and the third,
and so on. As such, patience is a virtue for unlocking these complex puzzles.

Regardless, the way most science is reported by the media - even sources who
ought to now better - is insulting to science as a whole.

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darkmighty
I wonder what are the drawback for such a gene since I would think the
evolutionary pressure for it should be pretty strong. Or maybe there wasn't
really much to be done at certain times and resting was the best strategy some
10000's of years ago.

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ocb
I imagine this is it. What would you do at night if there wasn't technology
enabling you to keep yourself preoccupied? The list of things we can do takes
a pretty big hit when we can't see well.

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eru
> What would you do at night if there wasn't technology enabling you to keep
> yourself preoccupied?

I can't imagine boredom to be a major evolutionary force back in the day.

There's lots you can do in the dark. And the night isn't all dark, either.
There's the moon and stars. We have other senses, too. Just keeping watch and
defending against lions seems like a good use of time already.

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jwarkentin
"If this was such a beneficial mutation, why isn’t it more common?"

Based on natural selection it would only necessarily be more common if it
affected reproduction. It may begin to affect reproduction now that people are
sleeping less and those that don't cope well (like those that don't have the
gene) may die before they reproduce; but until recently when sleep deprivation
has become a larger issue, I doubt it ever affected reproduction enough for
natural selection to do its job.

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sigterm
I think if people who need to sleep more is at a competitive disadvantage
compared to other people, they will be less able to provide for the next
generation, which will allow natural selection to slowly weed out those who
don't have the gene.

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shopinterest
I do know a startup CEO with this exact condition. The guy is wicked smart and
a lot is in his capacity on not needing sleep. I wish sometimes I could get by
4 hours and feel near-to-normal. Instead I live with approx 5 1/2 a day,
plenty of caffeine and I struggle.

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ihsanyounes90
Why shold I sleep less?

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thisjepisje
Golly, there's a gene for everything!

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eps
One of my relatives has been sleeping on average 5-6 hours a day for past
10-15 years. She would sleep 3-4 hours a night with short naps during the day
and then would have have a full 7-9 night sleep every few days. No health
problems, absolutely functional person. Though she is still majorily concerned
about her "lack of sleep" and thinks it's something that needs to be "fixed".

