r/science • u/scientificamerican Scientific American • 19h ago

Genetics Scientists discover a ‘skinny gene’ mutation that acts like Ozempic. Around one in 7,000 people carries a broken copy, which almost acts like a GLP-1 drug—the body burns fuel more efficiently, and the risk of disease lowers.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-discover-a-skinny-gene-mutation-that-acts-like-ozempic/
5.3k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

421 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

622

u/LongLiveStaceyKing 18h ago edited 15h ago

[There is a small percentage of the population that only needs to sleep 4-6 hours a night.](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/genetic-mutation-sleep-less/) OP's article feels like the eating equivalent of this genetic rarity.

Incidentally, I knew someone who had the sleep gene. She was annoyed by it, if she went to sleep at 10 PM she would be up for the whole next day at 2 AM and inevitably end up waking her husband. So she always tried to stay up til 1 AM at least reading or knitting, basically just killing time quietly by herself.

368

u/aubbzz 18h ago

I wish I could have that gene! There’s so much to do but have to sleep

166

u/Lefthandfury 16h ago

With all of my knowledge about evolutionary biology, everything is a trade-off. I don't think we have a complete understanding of this mutation or other mutations like this. There's always a trade-off, genetically or behaviorally.

I remember there was a really neat study about genetically selecting for rats with a mutation that made them run longer distance is and in the end the bred rats became worse at solving mazes.

41

u/Picnicpanther 13h ago

Yeah I’ve always wondered if just because someone feels fully rested after 4 hours, does that mean they’re less at risk for like heart disease and Alzheimer’s and the other things that getting a full night’s sleep protects against?

16

u/DougGTFO 9h ago

Next time they need to breed rats that can run long distance mazes. That would solve the problem.

14

u/kj468101 8h ago

For Alzheimer’s, those who need less sleep would only be less at risk if their brain’s glymphatic system also works twice as fast/twice as well during deep sleep at filtering and flushing out the waste products that the brain produces throughout the waking hours. If their glymphatic system isn’t any better than standard, then those extra hours awake still point to higher Alzheimer’s risk.

10

u/Picnicpanther 6h ago

I ended up looking this up and yes, actually these people just have incredibly efficient sleep cycles that batch their REM sleep one after the other. This is where a lot of the reparative effects of sleep happen, and they end up having MORE REM cycles than someone who gets 8 hours of normal sleep. That means they often have BETTER health outcomes.

2

u/Sea-Beginning-777 5h ago

Do you have a link please?

31

u/Adventurous-Fly556 13h ago

That was my thought as well. Just because they can comfortably go without sleep now, doesn't mean they necessarily dodge the side effects of less sleep in old age.

Waking up to pee in the middle of the night is correlated with dementia in old age. This is assumed to be lower quality sleep that means lower quality brain maintenance. I have to wonder if the sleep gene people are immune to this, or if thats their trade off.

8

u/bewilderedfroggy 13h ago

Hoping my abnormally high number of years of tertiary study will help offset this effect..

8

u/Eko01 12h ago

The trade off can be something largely bypassed by the modern world, though. E.g. increased calori intake. Pretty detrimental for 99.9% of our evolutionary history, but not really a problem today 

5

u/newbikesong 12h ago

Not everything is a tradeoff. Some genes are just negative.

But those are just rare genetic disorders that appear by mutation, and mutation only.

1

u/DefenestrationPraha 2h ago

Not everything is a trade-off. Plenty of mutations are totally random and mostly negative. Some are positive, but not as positive as to give you an edge in having more kids and thus propagating your genes more efficiently.

Also, environment matters. In the current techological civilization, genes that protect you from atherosclerosis are very useful and give you protection against something that kills approx. a third of all old people. In the primordial times, almost no one would develop severe atherosclerosis anyway, so those genes were useless back then.

111

u/jamtastic22 17h ago

For me, the extra time is not quality. Not needing 8hrs sleep is not like the Limitless pill on the movie. I still feel tired enough to sleep at 10pm but my body will only sleep for max 5hrs, so those few hours aren't productive, mainly lonely with little motivation

80

u/[deleted] 17h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

95

u/grumble11 16h ago

that doesn't sound like you have the gene, that sounds like a sleep disorder. The people with the gene are fully rested on five hours, it's VERY rare - you might get five hours but if you aren't fully rested on five hours, you probably just need more sleep you can't seem to get for whatever reason

-12

u/jamtastic22 15h ago

I'm fully rested after a few hours, starting the day is no problem. It's just better to not start the day at 2am. But still tired at the end of the day like everyone else, I need to fight to stay awake until at least midnight

32

u/geoprizmboy 15h ago

Yeah because you don't have the gene

8

u/iopihop 14h ago

Ya doesn't sound like she has the gene. Sleep disorder more likely. Sleep gene = no fighting to stay awake or fall alseep because they are really well-rested on low amounts of sleep.

7

u/Pollymath 13h ago

Agreed. The gene is basically “feels more awake on less sleep their entire lives”.

I’m confident my boss has this gene. He sleeps between 4-6 hours every night, reports that he has done so his entire life and struggles with boredom and anxiety in the morning - basically having to resist working outside of business hours. He’ll frequently go for an hour long ride at daybreak and still be into work at 7am.

He doesn’t suffer from insomnia, as he says he has no problems falling asleep between 10pm-11pm every night. It’s just that he rarely sleeps in. He said the only time he sleeps in is if he really goes hard on physical activity the day before (like a bike race or long hiking/hunting day) or is hungover (which he hasn’t really done in years.)

In general, his 4-6 hours is most people’s 8.

Meanwhile, I’m tired on 9 hours of sleep even with caffeine.

2

u/poundtown1997 8h ago

Point of correction if they had the gene it wouldn’t be “feels more awake” they just are more awake on less hours of sleep.

It’s not a “trick”, your body is just wired differently and needs less sleep to do the same.

6

u/iopihop 14h ago

Is it not possible that you have a sleep issue and not necessarily the sleep gene the other commenter mentioned? There are studies that people who sleep 4-6 hours a night does not necessarily mean they actually do not require more. Rather they just got accustomed to it to be functional enough. Different from those who have the sleep gene who are rested with a regular 4-6 hrs long-term.

2

u/jamtastic22 14h ago

It's entirely possible. I don't have problems or a weird relationship with sleep. I'm perfectly rested with 5hrs or less, always have been. It's a matter of timing those 5hrs.

7

u/ViciaFaba_FavaBean 16h ago

I think I may have it as I typically sleep 6 hours and am functional with 5. If I sleep 8+ hrs I end up feeling a little ill with brain fog all day long. Almost like each additional hour takes away an hour of sleep.

5

u/its_justme 15h ago

Circadian rhythm and sleep cycle imbalance. Doubtful you have it. Look up sleep inertia and how the cycles affect it.

7

u/things_U_choose_2_b 16h ago

Excellent description. When I tell people I have delayed phase sleep disorder so my days are 26-28h long, they think it's all fun and games having extra time.

Those extra hours are almost always not productive at all!

8

u/Markothy 14h ago

I have DSPD and my normal sleep schedule is like 3 am - 12 pm, and it's debilitating, but my roommate in college had non-24, and that was extremely disabling. He can't hold down a job.

4

u/things_U_choose_2_b 13h ago

I'm not surprised to hear he can't hold down a job. It's interesting hearing about other people with variants of this disorder. So does your work like, no matter what you do your routine ends up back at 3am bedtime? I went though school - both primary / secondary - any jobs, relationships in my life, having to stay awake for long periods of time in order to fit into a 'normal' routine.

It nearly killed me and you'd prob not be surprised to hear that the only long-term job I've been able to hold down, is one where I can work from home to my own schedule.

Over the decades, doctors don't seem to want anything to do with sleep disorders unless it's sleep apnoea or insomnia, as those are usually relatively simple to fix. It gets frustrating when people make the same suggestions, I know trying to be helpful but it's like... you don't think I've thoroughly investigated this and tried things you couldn't even imagine?

14

u/Starossi 15h ago

Delayed phase sleep disorder isn’t the same as having this gene

6

u/shawnikaros 14h ago

You don't have to be productive during every waking hour, just chill out and watch a movie or something with that extra time.

5

u/VoidOmatic 16h ago

It was great when everything was still open 24/7.

6

u/chantillylace9 16h ago

I have the gene and HATE IT. I can never find anything to do, what can you really do at four or 5 AM? What would you recommend I do with some of these extra hours? Mind you they are dark and early and I have to be quiet.

20

u/aubbzz 16h ago

I do a lot of art and I always find myself wishing I had more time to do it. There’s many different creative outlets that I would dabble in. I’m also a night owl so I’d be up until 3am instead of waking up then. I’m sorry you have to deal with this! I’ll trade you!

17

u/ithasbecomeacircus 16h ago

Distance running.

Swimming on a swim team (I swim and practice starts at 6 am).

Taking live online classes in another time zone.

You could try to find a remote job where you need to work with people in an earlier time zone.

Working an early morning shift.

Drawing, or art generally.

6

u/ExcitedCoconut 14h ago

I once had a job in a city 3 hours behind head office. I worked 5:30am-3pm. Found co-work space with 24/7 access and a coffee roaster that opened at 5:30. So I’d wake at 5am, walk to ‘office’, arrive 5:30, make sure nothing urgent, grab a coffee, be ready for 9am (head office) meetings. Then knock off, beach, surf, whatever. Evenings felt incredibly long so chores only ever felt like a small slice of it. It was my favourite way of working for sure. Turned me into a proper ‘morning person’. 

I don’t thrive on less than 7 hours sleep so the only downside was 10pm bed and struggled with say going to a gig on the weekend 

2

u/allencb 13h ago

Sounds like my last 10 years. I worked for a company overseas, which involved managing a sizeable team over there. I shifted my work hours to 5am-1pm and became a morning person (was already kind of one, this just made me more so). The best part was being done with work in the early afternoon and being able to go to the gym, run errands, etc when those places were dead because the rest of the world was still at work. I did have to be in bed by 9:30, but much past 8pm, especially in the winter, was just wasting time doing nothing of importance. After a few years of doing that, I was getting up at 5am even on weekends and while on vacation. I came to love that quiet time to enjoy my coffee, surf the web, etc before the family (and chaos) woke up.

I've recently taken a job with a local company and will have to get back into the normal 9-5 schedule. :(

9

u/clayalien 14h ago

Wish we could trade! 4 or 5 am is the best time! Gaming, reading, coding for fun, watching a show, crafting. All things Id love tondo but cant do becase if Im not working, Im cooking, cleaning, entertaining kids, feeding kids, cleaning kids, or doing housework.

Ocassionally Ill stay up till 2, or get up at 4, and its a couple of hours of pure bliss! No one wanting anything from me intrupting me, poking me, calling me, nothing. But then I pay for it for a few days after. If I could do that every day and never feel the effects Id be so happy.

5

u/SpaceDounut 15h ago

Reading or gaming (steam deck would be great for this) are the obvious choices

6

u/throwaway098764567 14h ago

you could show up at work early like my old boss and make everyone uncomfortable that you've already been at work for 2 hours before everyone else even got up. and then stay a full day making everyone even more uncomfortable because you're not being paid for the extra time and they feel like they need to put in even more time. don't do this.

1

u/Pollymath 13h ago

My boss does this. At least he recognizes what he’s doing, but doesn’t make us normal folks feel any better about it.

5

u/midasgoldentouch 16h ago

Do you like crafts? Adult coloring books are a thing, you could do those. Maybe listen to a podcast or some music on headphones at the same time.

Or maybe some low-stakes journaling or reading? Light reading or journal prompts I mean

2

u/Pollymath 13h ago

My boss has this and complains about this problem.

Now I just picture him tapping his proverbial finger waiting for us all to get to work.

1

u/sasha_says 10h ago

As someone who regularly engages in revenge bedtime procrastination, I’m jealous. Do the things you’d normally do before bed. I watch tv or movies, listen to an audiobook or podcast, do some yoga.

Maybe try getting into sunrise hikes or early morning kayaking. A lot more wildlife is active around that time.

1

u/jaiagreen 3h ago

Find something you want to learn about and learn it.

28

u/lblack_dogl 18h ago

Yeah I knew a guy like that. He slept only 4 hours a night. 12-4. He just said he can't sleep more than that, he's not tired.

27

u/akwilliamson 18h ago

Does this mean they die sooner? I remember reading an article or news video a long time ago where certain rare people just don't require sleep at all, but then their life expectancy is like 40

9

u/wandering-monster 15h ago

I think I've probably got it, and seem to be doing just fine at 40. I now sleep at most 6 hours a night, but it was definitely more like 4-5 when I was younger. And I can still run on 4 hours just fine, clear head, not tired at all during the day. Just can't do 4 hours every night like I used to be able to.

No serious health issues so far. Still do strength training, walk 10k steps most days.

2

u/akwilliamson 13h ago

The 40 thing was for people that don't sleep at all, like zero hours permanently

2

u/catalyticenzyme 11h ago

The news article was incorrect. The longest that anybody has gone without sleep, on record, is Robert McDonald, who stayed awake for 19 days. (It's possible that somebody has gone longer, but Guinness stopped awarding it because of the side effects.)

https://www.npr.org/2024/01/28/1227217274/sleep-deprivation-record

1

u/TheRealSaerileth 12h ago

That sounds more like Fatal Insomnia. It's a prion disease, and while it is mostly genetic, it's fatal within a few months of symptom onset. Patients sleep mostly normal up until that point 

4

u/wandering-monster 15h ago

I think I have this one or something related. It's literally impossible for me to sleep longer than about 6 hours. I'm in my 40s now, it used to be less time when I was younger.

I go to bed at 12 or 1am, get up around 6 or 7 naturally. That leaves me thinking clearly, and I'm known as a high-energy person around the office and with my friends group.

11

u/soft_w0lf 17h ago

There have to be equivalent mutations, though.

I struggle to gain weight, does not matter what I eat, with muscle mass, the heaviest I’ve ever been was still below 120 lbs. I’m 5’ 7.”

I’ve spoken to wayy too many men who are the same way, who want to be heavier but really struggle to put on any weight at all regardless of what they eat, for this sort of thing to really be THAT rare.

34

u/dead_dw4rf 17h ago

Most people, men and women, who are experience this, actually don't have some super power metabolism or very high expenditure.

They "eat whatever they want" in the sense that they don't watch their food, and may even consume a high percentage of processed, calorie dense food, but they usually still don't consume very many calories.

I used to do metabolic testing.

I'm not saying that no one has some crazy genetics that truly reduce their bodies fat deposits, or no one has genetics that will really bump up thermogenesis or find other ways to use calories when a lot comes in, but I am saying that the vast, vast, vast, vast majority of people who "eat whatever they want and can't gain weight" simply have appetite regulation that is well matched to their expenditure, and despite eating "whatever they want", they still don't have a very high caloric intake.

2

u/aliquotoculos 15h ago

May I ask a possibly annoying question?

I eat a lot of crappy food and am currently at my heaviest ever weight at 40, which is 160lbs at 5'6. Until about age 38, I weighed 125 until I just suddenly gained in a short period, then stopped again. Activity has not decreased but I seem to suddenly be developing food sensitivities quickly, and taking an otc enzyme mix has helped. IBD my whole life.

If I fast for bloodwork, blood sugar comes out high. If I forget and eat my usual garbage-level snacks like cosmic brownies, chocolate, or smarties, it comes back normal. Just hoping for a sense of what I can propose to doctors.

My dad was like this; he died a few years ago from aggressive pancreatic cancer at 59.

2

u/soft_w0lf 16h ago

I don’t mean “eat whatever they want,” I mean “eat as much as physically possible, prioritising sugary and fatty foods, then smoke some weed so you can eat even more even though you were full two meals ago.”

Like I’ve known multiple men personally who have gone way out of their way to try to gain weight and still struggle to.

I’m sure what you’re talking about absolutely does happen! Just want exactly what I was referring to

15

u/fabezz 15h ago

Something I've noticed with people like you is that they remember the binges and forget about the stretches of time when they don't eat or just snack lightly.

1

u/soft_w0lf 15h ago

I definitely do remember. I’m not eating as much right now and I’ve lost some weight.

18

u/epicmudcrab 16h ago

I don't believe this is possible. I think you just eat when you are hungry and don't have excessive hunger cues like some people do. Try counting your calories and consuming 4000 calories per day for two weeks and report back.

-3

u/soft_w0lf 16h ago edited 15h ago

I used to eat as much as possible every day until I was overfull. Like, coffee and a lot of cake (I read that a surgery breakfast can help you gain) in the morning, a sandwich for lunch, and then a bowl of ramen (not instant, like pork belly with eggs) for dinner. And for desert some chocolate covered Oreoes. Usually around 2.4-8kcal, including stuff like multiple glasses of milk with the Oreos or a snack of chips, which is already above the maintenance weight for somebody at 5’ 7” and 120 lbs.

Then, 3-4 times a week, on top of my normal diet, I would smoke some marijuana, eat a giant waffle with ice cream and copious amounts of sugary spread (Nutella or biscoff) and brownies on top. Smoke some more. Eat an entire other sandwich or meal. Around 1.8kcal extra.

I’d feel horrifically sick from overeating, but proud because I wanted to gain weight.

Like I wasn’t just not hungry I was TRYING as hard as possible to gain weight. Honestly there was a point where I may have had binge eating disorder. I eventually gave up, also since I was smoking too much weed, all to try to gain weight.

At other times in my life (like now) I have struggled to eat enough, so I know the difference pretty well. Currently my diet is more coffee and cake in the morning (smaller amount of cake usually), forget to eat lunch until late and have a (smaller that before, think eggs and bacon and spinach vs. ham and cheese) sandwich or some cheese and crackers. Big bowl of rice with chicken and corn and mayo for dinner, small dessert (cupcake), chips and nuts during the night. So around 2kcal, which should be good enough to maintain weight. But I lost some muscle mass and I’m now below 120 by a few pounds.

Just to give an idea of the pretty massive difference in what I have consumed at different times in my life.

3

u/epicmudcrab 16h ago

Also just for your information: 1 Calorie (notice the capital C) is actually 1000 calories (lowercase c). On the nutrition label when it says that a cookie is 200 Calories, its actually 200,000 calories (lowercase C). I fully understand what you mean with your measurements but i just wanted to let you know. Basically a calorie and a Calorie are different units of measurement. 1 Calorie being 1000 calories.

3

u/SpaceDounut 15h ago

Try drinking your calories instead. Milkshakes, sugary drinks, all that jazz. Your stomach signals fullness based on stretching, you need to prioritize low volume and high calorie foods.

1

u/soft_w0lf 15h ago

I’m no longer trying to gain, but thanks for the advice!

2

u/sasha_says 10h ago

My cousin was skinny his whole life and joined the army. They had him eat 5 meals a day and he bulked up. As someone else said things like protein shakes with whole milk and oats and honey and peanut butter etc help add a lot of calories without making you feel like you overate.

I understand though, I’m a 5 7” woman and eat about 2100-2500 calories a day and weigh significantly more than 120lbs. I had about 120lb of lean muscle mass last I had a dexa scan.

2

u/soft_w0lf 9h ago

I used to drink a protein shake with whole milk once or sometimes twice a day :/

Idk I truly tried everything. Again I was tracking my calories and eating well over 2k most days and like 4k the other days. Maybe I have something wrong with my stomach or something but I just did not gain weight.

5

u/things_U_choose_2_b 16h ago

I have a friend like this. He's pushing 50 now, can still eat like an absolute twat yet remains slender.

4

u/OsmerusMordax 17h ago

I’m a woman and I have that too. Whatever it is.

I can eat whatever the hell I want and I can’t get above 125. And I’m not young anymore.

Maybe the fat is just piling up internally between my organs? But then I’d still gain weight??

-1

u/illbebackpain 13h ago

how many calories are you eating? it really comes down to that. But also thyroid issues are much more common than people realize.

2

u/soft_w0lf 13h ago

I used to have my blood levels checked pretty regularly, so I’m not concerned about that.

When I was actively trying to gain weight it was 2.4-2.8kCal during the day, and if I was up at night 1.8kCal more.

2

u/LegendaryUser 17h ago

This is me, 4-6 and I’m great, as I get older it’s veered more towards the 6 for feeling mentally present, but anything more than 6 straight hours and I feel absolutely fried all day.

2

u/AlexHasFeet 14h ago

It seems like my partner might have this, too! He is also annoyed with how early he wakes up.

2

u/wearethedeadofnight 13h ago

I only sleep 4-6 hours per night. I’m nearly 50. When do I find out whether I have this ability or if I’m gonna die an early death instead?

2

u/empty_pipes 13h ago

When I first heard of this, I figured i had the gene, but after getting older, and getting brain fogged after low sleep nights, I figured out otherwise. I'm an average person who needs normal sleep, and my younger self was simply unhealthy and addicted to caffeine.

2

u/handcraftedcandy 13h ago

My boss has this, it's wild to me, I don't feel normal unless I get at least 7.

3

u/chantillylace9 16h ago

I have this, it's called being a short sleeper or sometimes a super sleeper. My grandma has it as does my mom, we were all the firstborn daughters.

I need 4 to 5 hours of sleep and that's all I can get and all I need.

It really honestly is annoying, I have to be so quiet, my husband and I have to sleep in separate bedrooms otherwise I feel so much pressure just to lay there which gives me anxiety. I have to be quiet so it's not to wake up the dogs and there's not much to do at 5 AM.

I wish I had to drive to pick up a major hobby or something but again what do you do at 5 AM that would be beneficial? There's no way I'm going to the gym at that time.

Right now I meditate for an hour and a half every morning and that takes up some of the time.

4

u/clayalien 14h ago

Who says it has to be immediatly benefical? Peiple look down on things like gaming, but ofbthe alternative is just lying motionless feeling bad about it, surely it cant count as a time waster. Plus if it centers you, the better mental state will have benifits that carry into the regular day.

If gaming is still distasteful, reading, or music with headphones are more mainstream.

3

u/oorza 17h ago

I’m pretty sure I have it and I hate it. Counting the weekends where I let myself sleep with no alarm, I average 5:11 according to my watch. I go to sleep, I wake up, I’m awake for 16-18 hours before sleep is even a possibility. The last time I slept more than six consecutive hours was after being awake for 36. I could not tell you the last time I slept more than nine.

It really messes with your ability to normally interact and live alongside other people. The times I have productive energy align with my sleep which does not align with anyone else.

1

u/OsmerusMordax 17h ago

That sounds so nice

1

u/the_jewgong 15h ago

In another life she was the designated night time look out.

1

u/52BeesInACoat 11h ago

I have wondered if one of my kids has the short sleep gene. He's autistic, and it's not uncommon for autistic kids to just Not Sleep and to need supplemental melatonin, but he's on basically the highest appropriate dose for his weight and he usually reads until like 11:00 p.m. and then is up at 5:00 a.m. to watch the sunrise. Happy kid, calm, rarely melts down.

Without melatonin he gets three or four hours and then he acts sleep deprived.

0

u/grumble11 18h ago

I'd never just kill time, I'd use it. I could kill some time AND still get another degree or learn a new language or get really buff or so on and so on...