The mystery of people 'born to take a nap'

A new study based on the genetic information of hundreds of thousands of people shows that some people are born needing more sleep than usual.  

People who sleep a lot often appear sluggish, tired and are considered lazy. People who have a long sleep and sleep a lot often have a lot of anxiety because they think their health is not good. However, this condition is not entirely due to lifestyle, health conditions or laziness.

Some people are born with a need for more sleep than others.

A new study by scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital has revealed that some people are born needing more sleep than others, and some are "born to sleep".

The researchers analyzed the genetic information of about 452,633 people to come to a conclusion. Study participants shared information about how often to nap during the day. They have three options of never or rarely, sometimes and often.

Dr Hassan Dashti, who led the study, said: 'While napping is still controversial, it is important to find a biological cause to answer the question of why napping is important.

To arrive at accurate results, the team provided the participants with an activity monitor and an accelerometer to record sleep data.

During the analysis of the data, the scientists found three mechanisms for napping.
The first two mechanisms suggest that people nap during the day because they are simply sleep deprived throughout the night or have to wake up too early. Another mechanism suggests that people nap a lot because their bodies need to sleep longer for no reason.

"This result shows us that naps are biologically related, not just a behavior of choice or an environmental influence," said Hassan Dashti.

Research data shows that 123 regions of the human genome are associated with naps, most of which are found in sleepy humans. Some genetic traits are linked to napping and other jellyfish health problems including high blood pressure. Several other napping genes are associated with a neuropeptide called orexin that plays a role in maintaining alertness in humans.

The final results of the study have yet to be published as the scientists want to continue learning about the correlation between short sleep and health problems.