http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/01/05/rare-gene-mutation-advanced-phase-sleep-syndrome.aspx?utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20170105Z1&et_cid=DM130084&et_rid=18287149411/5/17
Rare Gene Mutation Allows Some People to Thrive on Minimal SleepIn the U.S., working around the clock is still glorified. According to the documentary "Sleepless in America," 40 percent of Americans are sleep-deprived. Many get less than five hours of sleep per night.
The cost is rarely considered, even though it includes reduced productivity and an increased risk of serious accidents.
Tired drivers are as dangerous as drunk or drugged ones, and experts believe sleep deprivation may have played a role in the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Staten Island ferry crash and the Three-Mile Island nuclear meltdown, just to name a few.
Besides raising your risk of accidents that may harm or kill you or others, research clearly shows that skimping on sleep will decimate your health in a number of different ways.
Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stated that lack of sleep is a public health epidemic, noting that insufficient sleep has been linked to a wide variety of health problems.
Genetic Mutation Makes Some People More Efficient Sleepers
Interestingly, there are a few rare individuals who can get by on very little sleep without incurring any noticeable harm. There's an actual condition called advanced phase sleep syndrome — a genetic mutation that allows you to be fully rested after as little as four to six hours of sleep.1
In the TED Talk above, Ying-Hui Fu, Ph.D.,2 a professor at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine who studies the genetic basis for humans who have shorter sleep duration discusses some of her findings.
She and her colleagues have identified several genetic mutations that produce "extreme morning lark phenotype," as well as mutations that allow short sleepers to thrive.
A 2009 study investigating a mother and daughter with this rare gift found a genetic mutation on a specific gene transcription facilitator may be responsible. The gene DEC2 is involved in the regulation of your circadian clock, which is part of the equation.
DEC2 also appears to induce more efficient sleep with more intense REM states, and researchers believe this is the primary reason why people with advanced phase sleep syndrome can thrive on so little sleep and suffer no ill health effects. According to Fu:3
"Clearly people with the DEC2 mutation can do the same cleaning up process in a shorter period of time — they are just more efficient than the rest of us at sleeping."
Chances Are, You Need More Sleep Than You're Getting
People with genetic mutations that allow them to be extreme short sleepers are also typically very optimistic and naturally energetic,4 Fu notes. Many work two jobs at a time, not because they must but because they're highly motivated. And, since their sleep requirement is so low, they can.
However, the chances of you having this genetic mutation are very slim. It's been estimated that far less than 1 percent of short sleepers (people who claim to function well on less than the normal seven or eight hours of sleep) have the mutation — the remaining 99 percent are actually sleep-deprived.
Another estimate is that 1 in 10,000 may be genetically predisposed to short sleep. For everyone else, you really need right around eight hours of sleep every night for optimal health and wellness.
According to Fu, if you deprive yourself of just two hours of sleep per night for one week, your mental alertness will be the same as if you stayed up for 48 hours straight.
Sleep restriction can also lower your motivation and enjoyment, so skimping on sleep to get ahead professionally or to have more time to do things you like is actually counterproductive.
Habitual Short Sleepers May Be More Tired Than They Realize
In another study,5,6 researchers at the University of Utah used MRI scans to look at the neurological wiring of habitual short sleepers, revealing those who did not report daytime dysfunction had enhanced connectivity between the hippocampus and the sensory cortices.
These areas are involved in memory and sensory input processing respectively. In other words, it appears short sleepers may be able to more effectively perform memory consolidation tasks during the daytime, thereby reducing their brain's need for sleep.
That said, the researchers also found that many may actually be underestimating their need for sleep. The researchers first compared data from individuals who reported normal sleeping patterns with those who reported sleeping six hours or less.
The short sleepers were then subdivided into two groups: those who reported daytime dysfunction and those who claimed to function optimally.
Both groups had brain connectivity patterns that were more typical of sleep while in the scanner, opposed to patterns suggesting wakefulness, suggesting the short-sleepers were nodding off even though they'd been told to stay awake during the procedure.
On the one hand, this meant they were more likely to be engaged in memory consolidation tasks, which can occur even during quick nod-offs. On the other hand, it may also suggest they're not quite as rested and functional as they imagine. As reported by R&D Magazine:7
"For short-sleepers who deny dysfunction, one theory is that their wake-up brain systems are constantly in overdrive. Which could mean that when they are trapped in boring fMRI scanners, they have nothing to do to keep them awake and therefore doze off.
'It looked like the short-sleepers showed brain connectivity changes that look like they were preferentially falling asleep.
This was not only the case for short sleepers who reported being tired during the day, but also for the ones who said they felt fine,' [Dr. Jeff] Anderson added … [T]hey may be falling asleep during the day under low-stimulation conditions, often without realizing it."
3 Types of Short Sleepers
On the whole, researchers appear to agree that a vast majority of short sleepers are fooling themselves and really are not wired to get by on four to five hours of sleep. They're also in agreement that you cannot train yourself to require less sleep.8,9
Likewise, natural short sleepers cannot force themselves to sleep longer, and will report feeling worse for wear if they do. As noted by Ethan Green, founder of No Sleepless Nights, there are three general types of short sleepers:10
Those who have a sleep disorder, such as insomnia, which prevents them from sleeping as much as they'd like
Those who falsely believe they don't need much sleep and, for work, study or social reasons, chose not to sleep for more than six hours per night
True short sleepers, who due to their genetic makeup can thrive and function well on very little sleep
How can you tell if you're a natural short sleeper? Green offers the following common-sense suggestions:11
Take a vacation of at least two weeks; ideally avoiding jet lag
If needed, take a couple of days to catch-up on lost sleep
Each night, go to bed at your normal time — preferably as soon as you feel tired, and do not set your alarm clock
Over the course of several days of going to bed and rising without an alarm clock, you will know how much sleep your body needs
Is It Possible to Become a More Efficient Sleeper?
While researchers such as Fu suggest we may one day be able to figure out a way to enable people to sleep less by tapping into our genetic code, until then, we're stuck with our natural sleep needs. You can, however take steps to become as efficient a sleeper as possible. The most effective way of optimizing your sleep needs is to set and keep a consistent wakeup time. As reported by BBC News:12
"Neil Stanley, [Ph.D.,] an independent sleep consultant … says that when your body gets used to the time it needs to wake up, it can use the time it has to sleep as efficiently as possible. 'Studies show that your body prepares to wake up one and a half hours prior to actually waking up. Your body craves regularity, so if you chop and change your sleep pattern, your body hasn't got a clue when it should prepare to wake up or not' …
Stanley says that a lot of people with sleep issues actually don't have any problem sleeping, instead they have an expectation that they need to sleep for a certain amount of time. 'If we could all figure out what kind of sleeper we are, and live our life accordingly, that would make a huge difference to our quality of life,' he says."
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