![]() So if you do discover that you have this DNA leg-up, consider me jealous. But I still can't help but think of what I might do with two extra hours of life each day. The Sleepless Elite - WSJ Researchers are looking at the genes of natural 'short sleepers,' people who typically turn in well after midnight, then get up just a few hours later and barrel. Sure, it's totally possible for the other 97 percent of us to grit our teeth and have a successful day after an abysmal night of shut-eye. Of those, three-quarters admitted to having two or more sleeping. "The mutation was associated with resistance to the neurobehavioral effects of sleep deprivation." -Renata Pellegrino, PhD The Sleep Health Foundation's 2016 survey found 12 per cent of Australian adults slept less than 5 hours before work days. As Renata Pellegrino, PhD, senior research associate in the Center for Applied Genomics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia phrases it: "The mutation was associated with resistance to the neurobehavioral effects of sleep deprivation." (Talk about #blessed.) Even if they work till 3am often, they will get in at 9:30 to 10:00, leaving them with 5-6 hours of sleep, which is manageable. Those with the variant performed fewer lapses of performance on average than those without it and required less recovery sleep afterward. ![]() Then, they tested their cognitive function over a period of 38 hours of sleep deprivation using the Psychomotor Vigilance Test. In a comparison of 100 sets of identical and fraternal twins recruited from the University of Pennsylvania, researchers found that twins with the gene variant naturally slept about one hour less than their counterparts. While the trait has only been analyzed in two studies so far, the most recent one-which was published in 2014-suggested that these Cullen-esque humans not only snooze less than their counterparts, they may operate better cognitively, too. These so-called "sleepless elite" share a rare mutation of the DEC2 gene (which helps time your body's circadian rhythms) with an estimated 3 percent of the population, reports Sleep Education. ![]()
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