If there is one genetic quirk that I am extremely envious of, it's definitely this one. From the article:<p>> But natural short sleepers actually seem to benefit from this quirk of their biology. Fu says researchers have found that short sleepers tend to be more optimistic, more energetic and better multitaskers. They also have a higher pain threshold, don’t suffer from jet lag and some researchers believe they may even live longer.<p>I'm the opposite, I guess I'd be categorized as a "long sleeper" - the "natural" length of my sleep is ~9 hours. I feel pretty chronically lethargic, and if I go under 8 hours for multiple nights in a row I feel completely awful and often end up getting sick.
> Using a technique known as optogenetics, in which cells are modified so they can be activated by light, the researchers focused light on neurons in the pons to stimulate those in which ADRB1 was expressed.<p>I feel like there's a Manchuria Candidate story waiting to written about this.<p>That's cool as hell.
I manage about 6 hours on average. Sometimes 3-4, sometimes but not often, even 7. Been like that for as long as I can remember.<p>If there's an advantage to this, it's yet to manifest itself in a way that I can recognize. Plus, it's boring because days aren't 28 hours long despite my needs. I would totally opt to need 8 hours if that would help me retain health and good looks.<p>Focusing on something often drags me down to 3-4 hours for up to 15 days or so. It's exhausting though and I bounce back to my medium after a good 6.5-7 hour sleep.
Looks like I might have this particular gene, Although I can sleep longer most nights I can make do with just 5-6 hours and find it enough to function (I do drink a cup of coffee every morning but an hour or so after waking up so I dont mess with my natural ability to wake myself up), my wife would always be envious how I am able recharge my batteries with shorter sleep spans. Would be interesting to confirm this if 23andme has a new custom report to test this for me.
This must be difficult to determine. I can get by great on 4 - 6 hours of sleep and wake up without an alarm. During the day, I'll have a bit of a post-lunch slump at the office, but I don't seem to get it at home. If I take a step back from work and friends (shared routines) then I settle into an 8 hour sleep schedule. I feel the longer sleep schedule is better for me, but I can do either. I wonder how many other people are in the same situation?
Now it would be interesting to see if both type of short sleeper from both gene similarly don't suffer any health effects and have the same health benefits, or if it's only one of them.<p>The way this gene effect was described, it doesn't make sense why they'd see no negative side effect, since it promotes "waking up". The other gene felt more like it allowed the brain to sleep more efficiently and require less sleep.