Scientists have discovered that specific gene found in people who are refreshed by only four to six hours of sleep a night not only reduce the natural need for sleep, but research on them may also help find unique treatments for mental illnesses.
Research so far has shown that those who sleep less than 7 hours and more than 9 hours per day may experience more mental illnesses and problems than those who sleep an average of 8 hours per day.
However, in these investigations, some people are refreshed with only 4 to 6 hours of sleep throughout the night, while they do not suffer from mental and neurological diseases. These people are also called "elite sleepers".
Various studies conducted in the past have identified at least 5 genes that cause the natural sleep duration to be much shorter than normal, meaning that even with less sleep, one is fully refreshed.
In the same vein, researching mice, Dr. Ying Hui-fu of the University of California San Diego and his colleagues identified two of the same mutated genes that, in addition to reducing the natural need for sleep in the brain.
They also do an additional job of preventing degeneration and mental illnesses. These two genes are called "mutant DEC2'' and "mutant Npsr1'' respectively.
Dr. Ying Hui says that now we have found a potential and promising target to protect the brain from various diseases, which can be used to develop effective drugs for mental diseases in the future.
It should be noted that till now we do not have any cure for any mental illness.
Even the best existing brain drugs can only slow down the progress of mental disorders, which cannot be called a complete and effective cure in any case.
The research, published in the latest issue of the online open-access research journal EyeScience, is promising because it will also help us identify specific proteins that are expected to become more common in the coming years. It will be a cure for mental diseases.