3 hours of sleep and no fatigue? Scientists discover the secret of natural short sleepers |

For decades, the mantra was the same: adults should target seven to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep every night for optimal health, performance and longevity. From doctors to influencers of well-being, the message listed on platforms, supported by countless studies connecting insufficient sleep to heart disease, diabetes, depression, cognitive decline and early mortality. But what happens if this universal advice does not apply to everyone?Enter a rare and fascinating group of people who redefine what it means to be well rested. Known as natural short sleepers, these individuals thrive only three to four hours of sleep per night – and not because they are used for rest. They are rather biologically wired to require less. They are not working executioners obsessed with productivity operating on caffeine and will. They are genetically programmed to fulfill all the vital sleep functions in a fraction of time, waking up refreshed, alert and very working without any of the side effects typical of sleep deprivation.This condition, called family natural sleep (FNSS), is extremely rare and largely misunderstood, but recent breakthroughs in neuroscience and genetics help it demystify it. From revolutionary studies to the potential for revolution in sleep medicine, the science of short sleepers is gaining momentum – and it can simply unlock responses to one of the greatest puzzles in biology.

How some people work perfectly on 3.5 hours of sleep

Natural short sleepers are often very energetic, productive and resistant to current health problems associated with insufficient sleep. According to the neuroscientist Dr. Ying-Hui FU at the University of California in San Francisco (UCSF), these individuals do not feel cognitive fog, irritability or afflict that afflicts typical short sleepers.Sleeping natural natural is not the result of lifestyle, stress or overomms and overm. It is genetically motivated and often works in families, hence the family term in the FNS. In most cases, these people sleep between 3.5 and 5 hours per night – every night – and say they feel completely rested and mentally sharp. They do not count on naps or stimulants to compensate. Their bodies just don’t seem to need more.Although estimates vary, only about 1% of the population can have this trait, making it an incredibly rare but fascinating subject of study in the world of sleep research.

Why some people only need 4 hours of sleep: the genetic plan

The scientific trip to the FNSS began with the Landmark study of Dr Fu published in Science in 2009, where his team identified a transfer in the DEC2 gene in family members who still slept for only 4 to 6 hours per night without undesirable effects.Since then, Dr. Fu and his colleagues have discovered five key changes on four different genes involved in sleep regulation, notably DEC2, NPSR1, ADRB1 and, more recently, SIK3. Each mutation changes the brain’s sleep architecture, effectively condensing the sleep process without compromising its repairing advantages.In a 2022 study published in Neuron, the researchers used genetically modified mice to test the impact of the SIK3 mutation. The mice presented sleep times considerably reduced without observable physical or cognitive disorders. These results strongly suggest that the FNSS is not only a stroke of luck – it is a biologically viable alternative to conventional sleep habits.Although each mutation alone only slightly reduces sleep needs, stacking them can have cumulative effects, a hypothesis currently under study. If confirmed, this could open the way to the replication of FNSS type effects in completeness in people with sleep disorders.

Can short sleep genes treat insomnia

The implications of this research extend far beyond curiosity. Sleep disorders such as insomnia, narcolepsy and sleep apnea affect hundreds of millions around the world. Understanding the biological mechanisms that allow short sleepers to prosper on less sleep could revolutionize sleep medicine.Dr FU’s team estimates that in the future, therapies could be developed to imitate or activate these genetic changes in people with insomnia or irregular sleep cycles. This would allow them to reach restful sleep in shorter duration, potentially improving the quality of life of those who cannot maintain long hours of sleep due to working hours, health problems or neurological conditions.Professor Clifford SAPER, a renowned scientist of sleep at the Harvard Medical School, maintains this line of investigation, stressing that we are only scratching the surface of sleep genetics. “If we can understand how to” accelerate “the sleep process in complete safety, we could one day relieve millions of people who fight with bad sleep,” he notes.

The dark side to sleep less (if you are not genetically wired)

Despite the attraction of being able to operate optimally on minimal sleep, it is crucial to emphasize that short sleep syndrome is not something in which you can train. Most people sleeping less than six hours a night accumulate sleep debt, which can have serious consequences on health over time.A British Biobanque study in 2022 involving more than 7,800 participants revealed that individuals in the fifties who slept less than five hours per night were 20% more likely to develop multiple chronic conditions, in particular:

In addition, sleep deprivation is associated with a weakened immune function, with poor memory, mood instability and a higher risk of accidents. So, unless you are genetically tested and confirmed as a natural sleeper, the reduction of sleep can be dangerous – not admirable.

Why sleep counts: the body catering cycle

To understand why most people need 7 to 8 hours of sleep, it is important to know what is going on during this period. Sleep is not a passive state; It is a dynamic biological process governed by our circadian rhythm, the 24 -hour internal clock of the body.Sleep consists of several steps:

During a typical night, we travel these steps four to six times. For natural short sleepers, research suggests that their bodies compress these cycles, making a complete restoration in a shorter window.They can undergo a more effective distribution of the deep sleep stages and REM, allowing them to finish the “tasks” of high -speed sleep – like a compressed file which contains all the data in less space.

Are you a little natural sleeper?

Wondering if you could be part of this rare elite group? According to sleep researchers, natural short sleepers have several coherent features:

However, self-diagnosis is not recommended. If you think you could be a natural sleeper, consult a sleep specialist and undergo polysomnography or genetic tests to be confirmed. Many people wrongly believe that they are short sleepers but are, in fact, deprived of sleep.

The future of sleep: genetic engineering or natural evolution?

With accelerating genetic research, it is not eccentric to imagine a future where genetic publishing technologies like CRISPR could give people FNSS type features. But these progress is years – if not decades – outside and ethical considerations abound.In the meantime, scientists use the study of FNS to understand how sleep works at the molecular level, which could have applications in fields ranging from the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases to space travel, where sleep management in bolts is vital.In the end, natural short sleepers challenge one of the most fundamental hypotheses of modern medicine – that all humans have the same biological rest. And in doing so, they open the door to a future where sleep is not only a necessity, but a personalized experience based on genetics.