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That's a tough one.
We do inherit our genes, of course, but it seems that our
parents' patterns seem to have a big effect. So, if our parents
get up early to go to work, then we are more likely to get
up early too (and not just because of all the noise they make
as they're eating breakfast - in my house you'd think elephants
were making the coffee…). It's all training, really.
But don't count the
genes out of the equation. There are genes involved in “Circadian
rhythms” (biological rhythms with a period of approximately
24 hours) that appear to have evolved from the adaptation
of life to the Earth's cycles of light, dark, and temperature.
These rhythms are what get messed up with jet lag.
There are also families
where people are always ‘off' (that is, going to sleep too
early and getting up too late), no matter what they do. One
family studied had a gene mutation that sped up their circadian
rhythm, so no one was ever getting a good night's sleep. And
in teenagers, a hormone gets secreted that actually affects
the Circadian rhythms, causing them to – you guessed it –
go to bed late and sleep in the next morning.
The good news? Finally
a genetic excuse you can use on your mother when she's complaining
about you sleeping in all the time! “Sorry, Ma! It ain't me,
it's my genes – the same ones you gave me!”
Glossary
term:
June 2007
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