Today’s thread is about a study I quote often which was printed in PNAS. The study took a group of healthy adults limited to 6 hours of sleep a day for 1 week.
They found a change in the activity of 711 genes compared to when the subjects got 8 hrs of sleep (epigenetic change in 3% of their genome, only about 20,000 genes in our genome)
About half of the genes were upregulated and half downregulated
Downregulated (impaired) genes were ones associated with the immune system
The ones upregulated genes were associated with tumor production, long-term chronic inflammation, and stress / cardiovascular disease
This is was the turning point for my when I talk about sleep optimisation. So I would love to know how you feel after 6 hours of sleep? Do you feel good/ bad… Also, how many hours do you get on average?
I do not believe everybody -senior person can sleep 6 hours continuously, but instead 4-5hours sleep and get up for toilet, and 2-3 hours additional sleep. My case is 4-5 hours sleep, toilet, and back to bed for additional 1-3 hours morning time sleep. I feel the breathing method before bed, makes the difference to the length of sleep. One deep quick- inhale, and about 8 seconds to exhale very slowly. This
Sleep Breathe method is from Japan, and is doing good thing for my sound sleep. We do not think DNA changed, but neuron network via synaps should be connected and network becomes highway-traffic like communication and cognitive capability can be increased. We use NeuroTracker for cognitive enhancement. Ask me questions to nakaoryuzo@nakaointl.com
I think that I have always needed 8 hours of sleep. As a pre-pubescent teen, I got migraines if I didn't get enough sleep. Those (THANKFULLY) went away for many years. In college, I "functioned" on 5-6 hours a night, but I would sleep 10-12 hours one the weekends as catch-up. In my 40's now, I have to get 7-8 hours of sleep to feel my best. If I get 8hr, I feel 1000% better the next day, aren't as drowsy, and can focus better. I use the Sleep+ app and my Apple watch to monitor my sleep and help me stay on target.
If I have high quality (no alcohol, cool temperature) sleep, I can function on 6 from time to time. More than infrequently and that little sleep wears me down. I feel awful sleeping 6 if I have poor quality sleep or haven't slept well lately. I try to get 8 hours of actual sleep and end up somewhere around 7:30
Curious to know if this study controlled for sleep quality. My suspicion is that total REM sleep and deep sleep is a more accurate predictor of gene regulation. When I get 6 hours of good-quality sleep I wake up feeling great.
For anyone wondering they did do polysomnography during the study
"Effects of Protocol on Sleep, Waking Performance, and Circadian Phase of the Melatonin Rhythm.
In this balanced, cross-over design (Fig. 1), participants obtained on average 5.70 h (SEM = 0.03) of polysomnographically assessed sleep per 24 h during the seven nights of the sleep-restriction condition, and 8.50 h (SEM = 0.11) during the seven nights of the control condition."
and
"Sleep was recorded polysomnographically during all sleep episodes. "
So they should have the quality data available, but it is not included in the study. They seem to have only looked at it as a means to assess some of the effects of sleep deprivation (changes from the control to the deprived as they used the same subjects as different times) but not to have considered quality of sleep independently.
Perhaps a qualified person or organization could obtain the data from them and do a comparison between quality and the epigenetic and other factors this study focused on.
As a women in her early 50s, sleep is something I struggle now. I've always been someone who sleeps a lot. When I competed in triathlon, cycling etc. I used to sleep 10+ hours easy. Now, my sleep is interrupted with hot flashes, hip pain, numb hands, you name it. It's a struggle to get a solid nights sleep. I stay in bed well over 8 hours/night but it's not like I'm asleep throughout. I wonder how many premenopausal zombies are out there like me...
I do not believe everybody -senior person can sleep 6 hours continuously, but instead 4-5hours sleep and get up for toilet, and 2-3 hours additional sleep. My case is 4-5 hours sleep, toilet, and back to bed for additional 1-3 hours morning time sleep. I feel the breathing method before bed, makes the difference to the length of sleep. One deep quick- inhale, and about 8 seconds to exhale very slowly. This
Sleep Breathe method is from Japan, and is doing good thing for my sound sleep. We do not think DNA changed, but neuron network via synaps should be connected and network becomes highway-traffic like communication and cognitive capability can be increased. We use NeuroTracker for cognitive enhancement. Ask me questions to nakaoryuzo@nakaointl.com
Thanks for your info Richard, I am going to look into this!
I think that I have always needed 8 hours of sleep. As a pre-pubescent teen, I got migraines if I didn't get enough sleep. Those (THANKFULLY) went away for many years. In college, I "functioned" on 5-6 hours a night, but I would sleep 10-12 hours one the weekends as catch-up. In my 40's now, I have to get 7-8 hours of sleep to feel my best. If I get 8hr, I feel 1000% better the next day, aren't as drowsy, and can focus better. I use the Sleep+ app and my Apple watch to monitor my sleep and help me stay on target.
What is your sleep App like? Most of us on here use Oura ring. The data is wonderful but open to more platforms.
If I have high quality (no alcohol, cool temperature) sleep, I can function on 6 from time to time. More than infrequently and that little sleep wears me down. I feel awful sleeping 6 if I have poor quality sleep or haven't slept well lately. I try to get 8 hours of actual sleep and end up somewhere around 7:30
Interesting. I hear that alot and I have also felt the same in terms of having a one off sleep of 6 hours.. but an ongoing amount would be brutal!
Curious to know if this study controlled for sleep quality. My suspicion is that total REM sleep and deep sleep is a more accurate predictor of gene regulation. When I get 6 hours of good-quality sleep I wake up feeling great.
Here is the study if you want to check it out. https://www.pnas.org/content/110/12/E1132
For anyone wondering they did do polysomnography during the study
"Effects of Protocol on Sleep, Waking Performance, and Circadian Phase of the Melatonin Rhythm.
In this balanced, cross-over design (Fig. 1), participants obtained on average 5.70 h (SEM = 0.03) of polysomnographically assessed sleep per 24 h during the seven nights of the sleep-restriction condition, and 8.50 h (SEM = 0.11) during the seven nights of the control condition."
and
"Sleep was recorded polysomnographically during all sleep episodes. "
So they should have the quality data available, but it is not included in the study. They seem to have only looked at it as a means to assess some of the effects of sleep deprivation (changes from the control to the deprived as they used the same subjects as different times) but not to have considered quality of sleep independently.
Perhaps a qualified person or organization could obtain the data from them and do a comparison between quality and the epigenetic and other factors this study focused on.
As a women in her early 50s, sleep is something I struggle now. I've always been someone who sleeps a lot. When I competed in triathlon, cycling etc. I used to sleep 10+ hours easy. Now, my sleep is interrupted with hot flashes, hip pain, numb hands, you name it. It's a struggle to get a solid nights sleep. I stay in bed well over 8 hours/night but it's not like I'm asleep throughout. I wonder how many premenopausal zombies are out there like me...