Two regions of your DNA might be responsible for how long you sleep each night, a new study suggests.
Published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, the study found one DNA region was associated with sleeping longer than average. That area previously has been linked with better glucose metabolism and a lower likelihood of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, livescience.com reports.
The other region, previously linked with an increased risk of depression and schizophrenia, was associated with shorter-than-average sleep.
The first gene region may influence sleep patterns by regulating thyroid hormone levels, researchers say. It’s located close to a gene called PAX8, which is involved in thyroid development and function.
For this study, researchers examined data from more than 47,000 people who were participating in ongoing studies in Europe, the United States and Australia, livescience.com notes.
