Are you a morning lark? Or a night owl? Your genes may be to blame, research finds
- More than 350 genes affect whether you are naturally an early riser or not, British study shows
- ‘Morning people’ have better well-being and less risk of depression and schizophrenia, it found
If you find you just can’t spring out of bed on time every morning, you may be able to blame it on your genes, a new scientific study has found.
The research analysed a wealth of genetic data gathered from the DNA testing website 23andMe and a British “biobank” to better understand what makes someone a “morning lark” or a “night owl”.
“This study is important because it confirms that your morning or evening preference is, at least to some extent, determined by genetic factors,” said Michael Weedon, a professor at the University of Exeter Medical School in Britain, who led the research.
The study is the largest of its kind – it looked at data from nearly 700,000 people – and found that significantly more genetic factors are tied to when people sleep and wake than were previously known.
Researchers knew of 24 genes linked to sleep timing, but the new study, published on Wednesday in the Nature Communications journal, found an additional 327 play a role.
The analysis also showed that those with a genetic tendency to sleep later have a higher risk of mental health problems such as schizophrenia, though the authors cautioned that more work was needed to understand the link.