Sleep, Genes, Behavior and Illness

Scientists have struggled with why we sleep. A general consensus is that it allows a rejuvenation of the body, repairing and removing toxins, as well as allowing our brains to consolidate information.

Recently, a couple of studies have been published showing some unexpected adverse effects of poor sleep.

In the first, researchers tried to evaluate why some young children seem to sleep less, and asked if this can affect behavior. They found that a certain gene seemed to create a risk for these effects.

A significant association was found between short sleep duration during the first 3 years of life and frustration, fear, discomfort, sadness, and inattention in children with the 5-HTTLPR short allele but not in others!

Martin T. Stein, MD Reviewing Bouvette-Turcot AA et al., Pediatrics 2015 Oct 136:e914

In a second study, 164 volunteer adults were studied in a sleep lab, then infected with the cold virus by nasal spray. They found that those with less than 7 hours sleep, on average, were four times more likely to develop symptoms! They did not do a genetic analysis.

Thomas Glück, MD Reviewing Prather AA et al., Sleep 2015 Sep 38:1353

It appears that sleep duration can affect behavior and risk of illnesses. We do not know what else it may affect. Just try and get enough!