- DNA predicts insomnia causes
- Genetic links to sleep
- Early sleep issues affect students
Novel research indicates that the etiology of insomnia can be predicted by particular DNA sequences.
Dutch researchers studied 2,500 unborn newborns till age 15 and recorded their sleep patterns to collect genetic data.
They discovered that adolescents with genes known to affect sleep were more likely to awaken during the night compared to those without such DNA patterns.
In adults, genetic predisposition to problematic sleep patterns has been demonstrated previously. Sleep-inducing mutations in genes, including NPSR1 and ADRB1, have been identified by scientists.
However, recent research suggests that an individual’s “poor sleeper” gene remains active for the duration of their life.
Importance of Early Diagnosis
The findings of the researchers, affiliated with Erasmus MC University Medical Centre in the Netherlands and the University Medical Centre Rotterdam, emphasized the criticality of diagnosing sleep disturbances in infants to avert a lifetime of insomnia.
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DNA samples were obtained from 2,458 European children born between April 2002 and January 2006, with umbilical cord blood and samples from children aged six being utilized.
In conjunction with DNA analysis, maternal figures documented the slumber patterns of their offspring at the following ages: 1.5 years, 3 years, 6 years, and 10 to 15 years. Sleep monitors were worn by a subset of 975 adolescents for approximately two weeks.
Researchers generated DNA risk scores for each adolescent and discovered that those with high scores had a greater prevalence of insomnia-related sleep problems, including nocturnal wakefulness and difficulty falling asleep throughout childhood.
The researchers stated, “We provide indirect evidence that the ‘poor sleeper’ phenotype persists throughout an individual’s lifetime.” This allows for future research into genetics and sleep disorder detection and prevention.
The journal in which their research was documented was Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
Impact of Sleep on Students
Early sleep intervention increases a child’s growth and academic achievement, according to research.
A 2022 Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine study found that 93% of C students reported sleep problems. This compares to 83 percent of B students and 36 percent of A students.
A survey by the National Sleep Foundation revealed that more than 87 percent of American high school students sleep less than the recommended eight to ten hours per night, even though the significance of sleep cannot be overstated.
Furthermore, the American Academy of Paediatrics classified the problem of adolescents experiencing inadequate sleep as an “epidemic” that is primarily caused by “early school starts, caffeine use, and electronic media use.”
This knowledge has helped sleep specialists and parents lobby state legislators to enforce later school start times.
Only California and Florida require public secondary school classes to start at 8:30 am. However, colleges in Florida will have until 2026 to implement the policy.
