New Gene May Predispose You to a Lifetime of Insomnia, Study Finds

Genes are the basic unit of inheritance. They're like a blueprint containing biological information

your parents can pass on to you, identifying certain traits you acquire, such as the color of your hair, eyes and skin. However, it turns out genes can transfer more than just physical traits — a recent study shows they can also be the cause of your sleeping difficulties.

Can you be genetically predisposed to insomnia? Learn the facts about how genes play a part in acquiring it and the study discoveries that led scientists to believe genetics — or the study of inherited characteristics — perpetuates a lifetime of sleeping problems.

Genetic Association Of Insomnia

Studies on twins reveal a moderate heritability factor of sleep traits, 40% for insomnia symptoms and 46% for sleep duration. There's a greater risk of parental genes carrying these biological data to pass insomnia to their children. However, these results were determined in adults.²

Researchers wanted to know whether some kids are genetically predisposed to poor sleep, so they performed another study to find more evidence by evaluating two factors — sleep duration and polygenic risk scores, which help predict a person's susceptibility for insomnia relative to genes.²

A total of 2,458 children with European backgrounds participated. The results found that higher polygenic risk scores were linked with insomnia-related troubles between 1.5 and 15 years old. Meanwhile, longer sleep duration was associated with better rest, but the association weakened after a thorough analysis.²

In a nutshell, the study confirms there is a genetic predisposition for sleep.² Children who inherit genes associated with insomnia experience sleep troubles, whereas those who acquire genes encoded with a longer sleep trait also have higher snooze time. However, this attribute wanes when children reach adolescence as they stay more awake at night.

Environmental Factors Affecting Insomnia

The genetic proportion of sleep architecture can vary with age. In a meta-analysis on sleep duration and quality, it’s 17% for infants, 20%–52% for children, 69% for adolescents and drops to 42%–45% in adults.³

Many wonder whether insomnia is genetic or environmental. This analysis pointed out the environment plays a part in these acquired sleep characteristics, further leading to the field of epigenetics and gene expression.³

Link Between Epigenetics And Gene Expression

Genetic expression is a process in which a gene's information turns into a function. Similarly, the body cells interpret genetic codes, and translate them for specific proteins and functions that orchestrate the body to move.⁴

Meanwhile, epigenetics analyzes how your behavior and environment affect the way the body reads a genetic sequence, changing its expression.⁵ Think of it like you're cooking in the kitchen. Just as you can tweak a recipe to suit what you have, your body can also modify how it interprets the code relative to environmental cues, which leads to a different outcome despite having the same genetic blueprint.⁵

It further means that while you can be genetically predisposed to insomnia, environmental factors influence it.³ For example, a warmer temperature and high noise levels can keep you awake all night. Meanwhile, good sleep hygiene can promote better rest. It’s unlikely to address the root of insomnia, but it helps create a sleep-conducive environment. "Sleep hygiene gives you a framework to change some habits, but it may not focus on these core things," says Annie Miller — a behavioral sleep medicine therapist at DC Metro Sleep and Psychotherapy.⁶

Biological Causes Of Insomnia

Studies on genetic-influenced insomnia are ongoing, so limited information is available about the topic. After each study, researchers gain new insights that allow them to understand the association between the two better.

For example, a 2019 study only identified 57 gene regions linked to insomnia symptoms. Surprisingly, these genes weren't connected with sleep regulation but were involved in ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis. In this process, specific proteins are marked as old and damaged, and targeted for destruction⁷ by proteasomes that act like a janitor collecting unneeded proteins.⁸

On the other hand, recent findings identified 554 gene regions and 3,898 genes of interest influencing the inheritability risk of insomnia.⁹ Researchers discover more about the genetic contribution of insomnia by delving into more studies. In the future, more information may be available so people can understand their sleep challenges better.

The Case Of Fatal Familial Insomnia

Can insomnia be hereditary? Fatal familial insomnia (FFI) may emerge as a result of a transferred gene called PRNP from one of the biological parents. It's rare, affecting only 1 to 2 people in every 1 million and roughly 50 to 70 families worldwide carry the mutated genes causing the condition.¹⁰

It's degenerative, meaning symptoms progress over time. It affects the brain and central nervous system — specifically the thalamus area controlling sleep — and manifests symptoms like insomnia, muscle twitching and memory loss. Instead of a sleep condition, it's categorized as a degenerative brain disorder with no cure. The risk is high for people with a history since one copy of the mutated gene from one parent is enough for the offspring to inherit the condition.¹⁰

Symptoms Of FFI

Signs include the following:

• Progressive insomnia or sleep troubles that worsen with time
• Memory loss or dementia
• Hallucinations
• Involuntary twitching or jerking of muscle
• Overactivity of the nervous system, including high blood pressure, anxiety and elevated heart rate¹⁰

Cases of FFI eventually lead to fatality due to mental deterioration from the lack of sleep and damage from the accumulated prion protein in the brain. There's currently no cure. After a confirmed diagnosis, healthcare providers put the patient on a treatment plan to manage the condition through medication, psychosocial therapy and hospice care.¹⁰

Diagnosing Insomnia Triggered By Genetics

No laboratory or imaging tests can diagnose insomnia. In most cases, it emerges as a secondary condition of an underlying psychological or medical problem.¹¹ Genetic testing is the only way to know if you're predisposed to it.

It's especially beneficial to detect disease and confirm a diagnosis if the person is adopted, separated from the family or has lost their parents early in life. Hence, there's no way to ask if the disease is familial.¹² The majority of healthcare providers don't offer a test for sleep issues, but some consumer DNA companies may do. An easier way to gauge your risk is to ask your parents and family if they have insomnia.¹³

Genetic Insomnia Treatment

Insomnia is quite common, affecting 10% of people around the world.¹⁴ Even those who aren't predisposed may experience it, but it's not usually alarming since it's treatable. If your case is genetics, fixing your bed hygiene can help promote favorable rest.

Sleep has four stages. Stage 3 — deep sleep — is associated with recovery and strengthening the immune system. Stage 4 — or rapid eye movement — is vital for cognitive function. Both are critical phases of sleep, so the goal is to reach them through a better sleep routine.¹⁵

Go through your pre-bed routine, determine negative behaviors and work on changing them. For example, if you're using your phone minutes before turning in, quitting the habit is best. Establish a sleep-wake routine to tell your biological clock when to rest and get out of bed. Avoid drinking alcohol and caffeine or smoking in the late afternoon. There's no guarantee doing all these will be effective, but lifestyle shifts may help reduce the symptoms.¹⁶

Is insomnia curable? Both acquired and learned insomnia — the type you develop with causes other than genes — are treatable. Curing it may be challenging, but it is highly possible.

“The key is recognizing it early and intervening early," says Hrayr P. Attarian, MD — a sleep medicine specialist at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. Prompt diagnosis leads to higher treatment success.¹⁷ If you combine it with other treatments, it may improve.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

A therapist uses several strategies to teach good sleep habits and eliminate behaviors or thoughts that keep you awake.¹⁸ Some techniques include:

• Stimulus control therapy: It trains the brain and body to improve sleep, and use the bed exclusively for resting.
• Relaxation methods: It helps you control your heart rate, respiration and muscle tension so you can relax in bed.
• Sleep restriction: The sleep specialist may advise you to refrain from napping during the afternoon so you get more tired at night.
• Remaining passively awake: Too much focus on needing to sleep can create pressure and anxiety. This strategy is the opposite, as you try to stay awake while in bed until you fall asleep.
• Light therapy: Your therapist may apply this technique if you need to fix your internal clock to match environmental cues. Exposure to a light box may help push back your sleep-wake time if you sleep too early and wake up at dawn.¹⁸

Prescription Medications

If insomnia is permanent, medications can help you get the needed sleep. Although most providers don't recommend relying on them, some prescriptions are approved for long-term use. Just be sure to ask for potential side effects — some can cause daytime grogginess, increasing your risk of falling, so ensure you learn this from your provider.¹⁸

Over-The-Counter Medications

Your provider may also suggest sleep medicines you can purchase in the pharmacy without a prescription. These have antihistamines, which increase sleepiness.¹⁸

Genetically Inclined Insomnia Is Treatable

Studies have shown you can be genetically predisposed to insomnia through inherited genes, with susceptibility rates varying from infancy to adulthood. While it can last a lifetime, environmental factors can influence it at some level. Someone without it may have trouble closing their eyes if the bedroom doesn't have the most favorable setting for restful sleep.

Insomnia can impact your day-to-day life, but you can improve it through therapy, medication, and creating better slumber hygiene and routine. Talk to your provider and enlist a therapist's help if your sleeping troubles affect you negatively.

Sources

1. Green, E. (2024) Gene, Genome.gov. Available at: https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Gene (Accessed: 08 March 2024).
2. Kocevska, D. et al. (2023) Are Some Children Genetically Predisposed to Poor Sleep? A Polygenic Risk Study in the General Population, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37936537/ (Accessed: 08 March 2024).
3. Kocevska D;Barclay NL;Bramer WM;Gehrman PR;Van Someren EJW;, D.K. et al. (2021) Heritability of Sleep Duration and Quality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, Sleep Medicine Reviews. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33636423/ (Accessed: 08 March 2024).
4. Brody, L. (2024) Gene Expression, Genome.gov. Available at: https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Gene-Expression (Accessed: 08 March 2024).
5. What Is Epigenetics? (2022) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/disease/epigenetics.htm (Accessed: 08 March 2024).
6. Key, A.P. (2021) When Sleep Hygiene Doesn’t Help With Insomnia, WebMD. Available at: https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/why-sleep-hygiene-doesnt-always-work (Accessed: 08 March 2024).
7. Lane, J.M. et al. (2019) Biological and Clinical Insights From Genetics of Insomnia Symptoms, Nature News. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-019-0361-7 (Accessed: 08 March 2024).
8. Gene Ontology and Go Annotations (no date) QuickGO. Available at: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/QuickGO/term/GO:0043161 (Accessed: 08 March 2024).
9. Watanabe, K. et al. (2022) Genome-Wide Meta-Analysis of Insomnia Prioritizes Genes Associated With Metabolic and Psychiatric Pathways, Nature News. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-022-01124-w (Accessed: 08 March 2024).
10. Cleveland Clinic Medical (2023) Fatal Familial Insomnia: Symptoms, Causes & Outlook, Cleveland Clinic. Available at: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/25001-fatal-familial-insomnia (Accessed: 08 March 2024).
11. Watanabe, K. et al. (2022) Genome-Wide Meta-Analysis of Insomnia Prioritizes Genes Associated With Metabolic and Psychiatric Pathways, Nature News. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-022-01124-w (Accessed: 08 March 2024).
12. Gurarie, M. (2024) How to Tell if Genetic Testing Is Right for You, Health. Available at: https://www.health.com/genetic-testing-8550938 (Accessed: 08 March 2024).
13. Pacheco, D. (2023) Is Insomnia Genetic?, Sleep Foundation. Available at: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/insomnia/is-insomnia-genetic (Accessed: 08 March 2024).
14. Cleveland Clinic Medical (2023) Insomnia: What It Is, Causes, Symptoms & Treatment, Cleveland Clinic. Available at: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/12119-insomnia (Accessed: 08 March 2024).
15. Sleep Is Sleep, Right? (2021) Kemin North America. Available at: https://www.kemin.com/na/en-us/blog/human-nutrition/sleep-is-sleep-right (Accessed: 08 March 2024).
16. Sharkey, L. (2022) Is Insomnia Genetic?, Healthline. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/health/is-insomnia-genetic (Accessed: 08 March 2024).
17. Lawler, M. (2022) When You Can’t Sleep: How to Treat Insomnia Everyday Health. Available at: https://www.everydayhealth.com/insomnia/what-when-you-cant-sleep-all-about-insomnia-treatments/ (Accessed: 08 March 2024).
18. Mayo Clinic Staff. (2024) Insomnia, Mayo Clinic. Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/insomnia/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20355173 (Accessed: 08 March 2024).