Sleep quality (Khoury, 2020)

STUDY TITLE: Multi-ethnic GWAS and meta-analysis of sleep quality identify MPP6 as a novel gene that functions in sleep center neurons

SUMMARY: Identification of 3 regions of the genome associated with sleep quality.

OVERVIEW: Sleep quality is very important for a person’s overall health and well-being. Poor sleep has been shown to lead to various health issues, ranging from heart disease to depression. Sleep quality is determined by multiple factors including sleep duration, the time it takes to fall asleep, and the number of times a person wakes up during the night. It’s estimated that genetic factors may explain over 30% of the observed variation in quality of sleep. To identify those genetic factors, this genome-wide association study examined over 100,000 individuals across different ethnicities. The study discovered 3 regions of the genome associated with sleep quality. One of the implicated genes, ATOH8, is known to play a role in the development of the brain, kidneys, and other organs. Another variant is located between two genes: NPY and MPP6. Both these genes are known to be active in the brain, and NPY in particular has been previously found to help regulate the sleep process.

DID YOU KNOW? Regular exercise, perhaps as little as 10-30 minutes per day, can help boost sleep quality. Furthermore, exercising in the morning or afternoon may be more beneficial for sleep quality than working out later in the evening. [SOURCE]

SAMPLE RESULTS: Learn more about the Nebula Research Library.

sleep quality sample results

SLEEP QUALITY-ASSOCIATED VARIANTS: rs11976703, rs609869707, rs78633772

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
The science of sleep (Video)
10 tips to get more sleep

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WEEKLY UPDATE: November 1, 2020

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