According to Medical News Today, about one-third of Americans suffer from insomnia. And while many people might think falling asleep is just about clearing your head, there’s new evidence that insomnia may have a genetic component.
The largest study of its kind
In a huge new study that analyzed the genes and sleep information of more than 1.3 million people, an international group of scientists set out to determine if there was a genetic link to insomnia.
The researchers used data from the DNA testing company 23andMe and the UK Biobank and found 956 risk genes and 202 genetic loci for insomnia. Some of these genes were vital to the ability of nerve cells extension to communicate with other neurons.
They also discovered “a significant number of insomnia risk genes” that were activated in some cells in the brain’s cortical and subcortical tissues.
The team also found that insomnia had shared risk genes with anxiety and depression than with other sleep characteristics, such as being a “morning person” or a “night owl.”
“This is a very important finding because we have always searched for causes of insomnia in the brain circuits that regulate sleep,” explains Professor Eus Van Someren, who works as a neurophysiology professor at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience in Amsterdam. “We have to shift our attention to the circuits that regulate emotion, stress and tension. Our first results in that direction are already spectacular.”
Because the researchers were able to determine the types of cells involved in sleep issues (striatal, claustrum and hypothalamic neurons), their findings may be able to pave the way for new treatment targets in the future.
Other studies showing a neurobiological component
This isn’t the first study showing that difficulty falling asleep may be tied to the nervous system. A 2016 study determined that people with sleep issues had abnormalities in the white matter tracts and parts of the limbic systems.
