'Clearly, your brain doesn't work very well when you're sleep-deprived,' Feinsilver said. The problems can start on a somewhat minor scale. They say that learning what happens in people who are deprived of sleep can help researchers better understand the function of sleep and its importance for both physical and emotional health. In the studies of sleep deprivation that Dinges and his colleagues conduct in their lab, healthy volunteers are placed in medically safe environments and constantly monitored.īut studying sleep deprivation is important, according to these researchers and others who study the condition. PMID: 31473062.įunding: NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) William Bowes Neurogenetics Fund.In fact, the damage is so apparent that it is unethical to coercively deprive someone of sleep, Dinges said. Shi G, Xing L, Wu D, Bhattacharyya BJ, Jones CR, McMahon T, Chong SYC, Chen JA, Coppola G, Geschwind D, Krystal A, Ptáček LJ, Fu YH. References: A Rare Mutation of β1-Adrenergic Receptor Affects Sleep/Wake Behaviors. Molecular Ties Between Lack of Sleep and Weight Gain.Sleep Deprivation Increases Alzheimer’s Protein.How Disrupted Sleep May Lead to Heart Disease.Weekend Catch-Up Can’t Counter Chronic Sleep Deprivation.Artificial Light During Sleep Linked to Obesity.“By studying them, we hope to learn what makes for a good night's sleep, so that all of us can be better sleepers leading happier, healthier lives.” “Natural short sleepers experience better sleep quality and sleep efficiency,” Fu says. “We don’t think there’s one gene or one region of the brain that’s telling our bodies to sleep or wake. These results suggest that increased activity of wake-promoting brain cells may be one of the mechanisms underlying naturally shorter sleep cycles. When researchers turned on brain cells with the β1-adrenergic receptor during non-REM sleep using a light-activated protein, the mice woke up. Mice with the mutation showed increased activity of brain cells with the β1-adrenergic receptor compared with normal mice. They had about seven minutes less of REM sleep and 53 minutes less of non-REM sleep.īrain cells with the ADRB1 mutation showed altered activity and electrophysiological properties, making them more easily activated.

Mice with the genetic mutation slept almost an hour less each day than normal mice. To learn more about the mutation’s effects in the brain, the researchers created genetically engineered mice with the altered gene. The brain cells were active when mice were in REM sleep or awake, but not during non-REM sleep. These cells were located in a brain region that’s involved in regulating sleep behaviors called the dorsal pons. The researchers found that certain brain cells expressed high levels of the β1-adrenergic receptor. Adrenergic receptors are found on many cells in the body and respond to hormones, including those known to regulate the sleep/wake cycle. The ADRB1 gene codes for the β1-adrenergic receptor. Family members who inherited one copy of this mutant gene had a shortened sleep cycle. They found a rare mutation in the ADRB1 gene that was being passed through the family. Using whole exome genome sequencing, the researchers searched for gene mutations that only the naturally short sleepers had. Results were published online on August 28, 2019, in Neuron. The research was supported in part by NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Louis Ptáček at the University of California, San Francisco carried out a study in a family with three generations of naturally short sleepers to look for genes involved in their unusual sleep patterns. To better understand why some people need much less sleep than most, a team led by Dr. Previous studies have led to the identification of over 50 families with people who need less than six and a half hours of sleep a night to feel well rested. You may not be getting quality sleep if you don’t feel rested after you’ve slept enough, you repeatedly wake up during the night, or you experience symptoms of sleep disorders, like snoring or gasping for air. Good quality sleep means that you’ve gotten enough of two different phases of sleep: rapid eye movement (REM)-the deep sleep in which dreaming happens-and non-REM. Healthy sleep involves not only getting enough hours of sleep, but sleeping at the right time of day and having good quality sleep. Not getting enough sleep can lead to physical and mental health problems. Most adults need to sleep seven or more hours each night. The amount of sleep you need changes as you age, and sleep needs vary from person to person. Getting enough sleep is important for good health and well-being. Some people need less sleep than others, and researchers are starting to understand why.

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