Rotterdam: A new study suggests that specific imprints on DNA have the potential to determine whether or not we will suffer from insomnia in the future.
Researchers from the Netherlands collected genetic information from 2,500 children before birth and followed them up to age 15, measuring their sleep patterns.
The study found that people who had genes known to affect sleep were more likely to wake up during the night than other people.
In past studies, scientists have identified mutations in genes such as NPSR1 and ADRB1 that can cause insomnia. But the latest research shows that the genes that cause poor sleep remain active throughout a person’s life.
Researchers from University Medical Center Rotterdam and Erasmus MC University Medical Center used their research findings to emphasize the importance of identifying poor sleep patterns early in a child’s life to prevent lifelong insomnia.
DNA samples from umbilical cords and six-year-olds were collected from 2,458 European children born between April 2002 and January 2006.
With DNA analysis, mothers reported their children’s sleep patterns at ages one-and-a-half, three and six, and later at ages 10 to 15. 975 of these children wore a sleep tracking device for two weeks.
The researchers created a DNA risk score for each young person that tracked insomnia-related problems such as waking up in the middle of the night and difficulty falling asleep throughout childhood.
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