A study published in the journal Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) shows that irregular sleep patterns affect gene behavior.
Researchers from the University of Surrey had 22 volunteers subjected to a controlled 28-hour day cycle without any natural lighting to suggest changes in the day-night cycles. Through the manipulation of lighting, the researchers delayed the normal sleep cycle by 4 hours daily until sleep occurred 12 hours off sync with what would have been their normal daytime.
While these changes were being gradually introduced, the researchers took blood samples to evaluate levels of gene expression.
Analysis of gene expression found that when the sleep pattern had been disrupted, there was a 6-fold decrease in various stages of genetic expression, including transcription and translation.
The fact that an irregular sleep pattern can adversely affect genetic expression is a worrying fact, but by so doing highlights the importance of regular sleep, and should thus encourage one to develop a regular sleep pattern.
Beyond the genetic interruption that irregular sleep patterns may cause, there are more unsubtle effects of having erratic sleep patterns.
Irregular sleep patterns were found responsible for decreasing the average length of daily sleep time in a study conducted on 160 university students, and when the length of required sleep is reduced, problems become compounded; the brain needs adequate rest to be rejuvenated, and when it doesn’t get that much needed rest, you begin to dumb down, becoming drowsier, incapable of making quick judgment calls. That is when we are more susceptible to committing largely avoidable accidents.
Similarly, weight issues, a low sex drive, depressing episodes and other health issues are bound to haunt you.
So you see, try inculcating a sleeping pattern that is more or less regular; it goes a long way in ensuring you are in tip top shape.
Africa Global News Publication
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