August 30, 1999
If you're one of those people who get up real early--
at, say 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning--
and then go to bed when the sun goes down,
we now have a better understanding why you do that.
Science Specialist Ed Yeates says for the first time, Utah scientists have discovered this sleep-wake cycle is controlled by a gene.
When we sleep and when we wake may not be so much a lifestyle habit as an actual gene which programs our body clock.
CHRISTOPHER JONES, M.D., UNIVERSITY OF UTAH NEUROLOGIST: "IF THEIR GENETIC PROGRAMMING AND THEIR BIOLOGICAL CLOCK IS PREVENTING THEM FROM GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP, THEY'RE GOING TO BE SLEEP DEPRIVED AND THEY JUST CAN'T CHANGE IT BY FORCE OF WILL."
The remarkable discovery was made while studying a group of Utah families who have what is called advanced sleep-phase syndrome. That's the scientitic jargon for "morning larks," people who go to bed at 7:00 or 8:00 and get up at 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning.
LOUIS PTACEK, M.D., HOWARD HUGHES MEDICAL INSTITUTE, U OF U: "A THIRD OF ELDERLY PEOPLE WILL GET UP VERY EARLY AND GO TO BED VERY EARLY. WHAT'S UNIQUE ABOUT THESE FAMILIES IS THAT THESE PATIENTS HAVE THIS PHENOMENON EVEN IN THEIR CHILDHOOD."
It's not a life-threatening disease, just a sleep pattern.
It's great for younger people with daytime jobs - but it doesn't do much for shift work or nightime socializing.
"THEY'RE SLEEPY. THEY DON'T FEEL LIKE SOCIALIZING AT 7:00, 8:00 OR 9:00 AT NIGHT. THEY WOULD RATHER BE ASLEEP FRANKLY."
ED YEATES, SCIENCE SPECIALIST: "AND IT'S NOT JUST THE MORNING LARKS - THE PEOPLE WHO LIKE TO GET UP EARLY IN THE MORNING. THE GENETIC DISCOVERY HAS OPENED THE DOOR FOR AN UNDERSTANDING OF ALL KINDS OF SLEEP PATTERNS."
Insomniacs, shift workers, night people, like high school kids who stay up late but have a tough time getting up in the morning -- Ptacek and Jones say genes could be responsible for many of these conditions. The "morning lark" discovery could be just the beginning.
And as each gene is identified and understood -- future medications could be developed to help sleepers modify their circadian rhythms or body clocks.
In the study of Utah "morning lark" families, 50 percent of all children born to an affected parent ended up with the same sleeping pattern.
