New study shows ‘poor sleeper’ gene can leave you destined for a life of insomnia

A new study shows that specific patterns in our DNA could determine whether we develop insomnia or not.

Researchers from the Netherlands collected genetic information from 2,500 unborn children and followed them until the age of 15, taking measurements of their sleep patterns.

They found that those with genes known to affect sleep were more likely to wake up during the night than teens without the DNA patterns.

A genetic predisposition to unhealthy sleep patterns in adults has previously been shown. Scientists have identified mutations in genes like NPSR1 and ADRB1 that can lead to sleepless nights.

But the latest findings indicate that the “bad sleep” gene is active throughout a person’s life.

The researchers, from University Medical Center Rotterdam and Erasmus MC University Medical Center in the Netherlands, used their findings to emphasize the importance of identifying poor sleep patterns early in a child’s life – early in childhood – to prevent lifelong insomnia.

DNA samples were collected from 2,458 European children born between April 2002 and January 2006, using umbilical cord blood and from children aged between six years.

Along with the DNA analysis, the mothers reported on their children’s sleep patterns at the ages of one and a half, three, six, and then 10 to 15 years. A subset of 975 teens wore sleep trackers for about two weeks.

The researchers created DNA risk scores for each teen — and discovered more insomnia-related sleep problems such as nighttime wakefulness and difficulty sleeping throughout childhood in those with high scores.

“We provide indirect evidence that the ‘poor sleeper’ phenotype persists throughout the lifespan,” the researchers said. This opens the opportunity for further research into early genetic detection and prevention of sleep problems.

Their findings were published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

Addressing sleep problems early in a child’s life has been shown to better prepare him or her for developmental and academic success.

A 2022 study in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that nearly 93 percent of Class C students had sleep disturbances, compared to 83 percent of Class B students and 36 percent of Class A students.

The importance of sleep cannot be overstated, yet a National Sleep Foundation survey found that more than 87 percent of American high school students get less than the recommended 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has described poor sleep quality among teens as an “epidemic” driven by “electronic media use, caffeine consumption, and early school start times.”

This knowledge has helped fuel a growing movement of parents and sleep experts who are lobbying state legislatures to mandate later school start times.

California and Florida are the only states that have passed late start time policies that require public high school classes to begin no later than 8:30 a.m. However, Florida’s policy will allow schools to implement it through 2026.