It’s every over-achiever’s dream: a gene mutation that allows them to function normally on just 4-6 hours of sleep a night, instead of the normal 8 hours. Scientists have discovered a mutation in the gene DEC2 in a family of short sleepers — people who go to bed between 11 p.m. and midnight but wake up naturally at 5 a.m. These are not people who have trained themselves to wake up early — they’re born this way. DEC2 helps regulate circadian rhythms, the natural biological clock that dictates when hormones are released and influences behaviors such as eating and sleeping. DEC2 oscillates on a circadian schedule: rising during the day, but falling at night. The study suggests that DEC2 may lower your level of alertness in the evening by binding to and inhibiting MyoD1, a gene that turns on orexin production. Before dawn, DEC2 fades away, allowing MyoD1 to stimulate orexin production to wake you up and keep you alert throughout the day. The mutation seen in short sleepers weakens DEC2’s ability to put the breaks on MyoD1, leading to more orexin production and causing the short sleepers to stay awake longer. DEC2 is the timekeeper that makes sure orexin levels match the circadian rhythm. DEC2 mutation is very rare, but for those lucky few who have it, they don’t worry about getting enough sleep.
