Is it true that 8 hours of sleep a day is enough? What can you do if you don’t get enough sleep ? There are now several studies that can answer these questions. But we find the research into the influence of genes on your sleep particularly interesting.
Research has shown that your genes influence your sleeping behavior. There are six genes that together exert this influence. In the study by Coriell Personalized Medicine Collaborative (CPMC) these genes were compared with environmental factors. This enabled the researchers to demonstrate that the genes do indeed influence sleep behaviour, but that environmental factors such as smoking also influence the duration of sleep.
It is often said that it is important that you get enough sleep. But when do you get enough sleep? The biological purpose of sleep is not yet known, but it is known that insufficient sleep results in health problems. For example, you have a higher risk of obesity and diabetes, but also a risk of a weakened immune system and psychological complaints such as depression.
Recently, research has been done on the genetic influences on sleep. This mainly focuses on the length of the night’s sleep, which is linked to a number of demographic factors. By learning more about sleep patterns in combination with environmental factors and genetic risks, medical treatments can eventually be formulated that are person-specific. In addition to treatments, preventive measures can also be taken for certain risks arising from too little sleep.
Previous research has shown that a minimum of six hours of sleep is generally required, but eight hours of sleep a night is better. When you sleep less than six hours, the risk of various health problems is many times higher. It varies a lot from person to person what is actually enough sleep. One has enough sleep for six hours, the other has to sleep at least nine hours.
To learn more about the study, read the article of the study.
