Genetic Propensities | Sleep
Sleep is the cornerstone of the complex human system. Sleep imbalances profoundly impact your ability to function.
Sleep is the foundation of your limitless potential which explains why it is the most ignored performance-enhancing activity. It is the most impactful and the most neglected area of wellness.
We are able to change gene expression with lifestyle changes. Sleep genes are different in that the most effective way to optimize gene expression is by following your genetic blueprint and keeping healthy, consistent sleep habits.
Studies show sleep deprivation and alcohol consumption have similar effects on cognition. Two hours of sleep loss is the equivalent of drinking three brews; eight hours of sleep loss has the same effect as a 12-pack of suds.
Sleep deprivation has been linked to memory loss and cognitive decline down the trail. Research is pending when it comes to its impact on ultra-endurance athletes.
Sleep must be optimized in order to enhance body composition, perform daily functions, and improve cognitive performance. It is critical to understand the role sleep plays in your health, performance, and longevity.
Sleep is the body’s rest cycle. A time when our awareness of external stimuli reduces as we drift into a state of brain and body restoration. We spend 1/3 of our lives in a sleep state – it is as essential as air, food, and water to our existence.
During sleep, the brain and body go into maintenance and optimization mode. This is when your heart rate, breath cycle, and brain waves downshift, muscles relax, and your hormones are activated.
It is a time of restoration and healing for the brain and body as toxins are flushed, memories are consolidated, revitalization occurs, hormones balance, immunity is enhanced, and cardiometabolic function is optimized.
Sleep is essential if you want to express vibrant energy and health, look, feel, and perform at your peak. This is why research conclusively shows we require between seven and nine hours of sleep each night.
Excess sleep or sleep deprivation can create metabolic chaos and accelerate biological aging while increasing the mortality rate.
The exception is having the rare DEC2 gene in which one can function at optimal levels with four hours of sleep, for example. Only 0.5% of the population expresses this propensity.
Consistent sleep habits will pay exponential benefits to your health, performance, and longevity in life and sport.
SLEEP-WAKE CYCLE
The 24-hour sleep-wake circadian cycle impacts the length and quality of sleep. Too much cortisol, too much late-day blue light, and temperature fluctuations when you sleep or wake, among other variables can disrupt your inner clocks.
This ultimately impacts how well you rest and how well you rise along with the regulation of your metabolic hormones for energy, health, and thriving throughout your system. When you sleep better, you look, feel, and live better each day.
There are four stages to sleep, governed by two main cycles.
* Stage 1
Non-REM sleep is the changeover from wakefulness to sleep. This only lasts several minutes;
* Stage 2
Non-REM sleep is a period of light sleep before you enter deeper sleep;
* Stage 3
Non-REM sleep is the period of deep sleep you need to feel refreshed in the morning. It occurs in longer periods during the first half of the night;
* Stage 4
REM sleep first occurs about 90 minutes after falling asleep. Your eyes move rapidly from side to side behind closed eyelids. Mixed-frequency brain wave activity becomes closer to that seen in wakefulness. This is your dream state and when memories are consolidated.
Nearly 75 percent of your night in non-REM sleep and the other 25 percent in REM sleep, with typically 10-15 percent in deep sleep. Deep and REM stages should occur at least 2-3 hours each night for optimal sleep structure.
Micro awakenings consist of small periods of time of a few seconds in which you wake, change your position, and go back to sleep throughout the night. Micro awakenings totaling 3-5 each night between sleep cycles are normal.
Some people are genetically predisposed to a higher likelihood of awakenings based on pre-bed activities and stressors to the system. This is what accounts for one being in bed for 8 hours but only getting 6.5 hours of sleep.
Interrupted sleep lasting more than three minutes becomes a sleep disturbance. The frequency and duration of each disturbance significantly alter the quality of sleep which parlays to your ability to function during the day. Restless Leg Syndrome [RLS], jet lag, insomnia, and related occurrences fit this category.
CIRCADIAN PROPENSITY
WHAT THIS MEANS
The circadian rhythm is a cycle that signals our bodies when to sleep, rise, and eat. Humans are a diurnal species, meaning we are active during the day and sleep at night. Consistent disruption of that precious cycle has a price.
Many feel more awake, alert, and capable of their best work effort in the morning [larks]. Persons at the opposite end of the spectrum [owls] prefer to stay awake late and sleep into the daytime hours.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Recent research has revealed that the circadian clock is not as basic as once suspected. Individual circadian variations regulate the timing of functions such as appetite, hormone release, and metabolism.
Sleep genes are some of the most important and impactful genetics individuals inherit. They are also unlikely to change with epigenetic expression.
While some individuals are aware of their circadian rhythms, many are living in opposition to their genetic propensities. Forcing the body to fit into a sleep-wake cycle that does not match our genetics can lead to circadian desynchronization.
Lifestyle must match chronotype – or the insidious mayhem begins.
MELATONIN
WHAT THIS MEANS
Melatonin is the sleep hormone. Genetics can help to guide the need for supplementation by looking at production, response to supplementation, and breakdown speed. Melatonin can be supplemented in conditions where production or response is diminished.
* Melatonin Production
Light has a strong production of melatonin; melatonin production decreases when the light gets brighter and increases as the light dims. It can take up to four hours to produce optimal melatonin levels for optimal sleep.
* Melatonin Response:
Certain individuals tend to respond to melatonin supplementation whereas others experience minimal effects.
* Melatonin Breakdown:
Similar to caffeine and Vitamin B-12, genetics can predispose individuals to different melatonin breakdown efficiency levels. Epigenetic markers may exacerbate or mitigate said propensities.
WHY THIS MATTERS
* Melatonin Production:
Production drops off dramatically as we age and this can have significant health impacts. Genetics provide an understanding of optimal strategies to increase melatonin production and increase sleep quality.
* Melatonin Response:
Persons with specific genetics may experience a better response from dietary sources of melatonin rather than supplementation.
* Melatonin Breakdown:
Depending on melatonin breakdown efficiency, some forms of melatonin may be more beneficial than others. For example, a fast metabolizer may benefit from a delayed-release supplement, whereas a slow metabolizer may feel waking drowsiness from the same melatonin type and level.
FUNCTIONS OF MELATONIN:
* Sleep:
Melatonin is intimately involved with the regulation of our circadian rhythm.
* Antioxidant:
A powerful free radical scavenger, melatonin interacts with immune cells to help boost response to infectious organisms.
* Immune function:
Melatonin interacts with immune cells to help boost response to infectious organisms.
* Anti-aging:
Melatonin plays a role in longevity.
SLEEP ONSET
WHAT THIS MEANS
Normal sleep onset is the time from lying down to the first stages of sleep. Onset is approximately 15-20 minutes, however, falling asleep faster can indicate a degree of sleep deprivation.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Individual genetics play a large role in predicting longer or shorter sleep onset. Despite possessing a propensity for delayed sleep onset, identifying the genetic components that are most impactful to the process allows a much more directed and personalized approach to optimal sleep interventions.
The onset of sleep outside of the typical range usually indicates either a genetic or lifestyle component.
* 0-5 minutes = severe sleep deprivation;
* 6-15 minutes = moderate sleep deprivation;
* 15-20 minutes = normal;
* >20 minutes = probable genetic or environmental issues
SLEEP DURATION
WHAT THIS MEANS
When we do not get enough sleep we experience surges of stress hormones which disrupt cognition and emotional regulation.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Just two hours of sleep deprivation results in a vigilance level equivalent to the consumption of two or three alcoholic drinks. Despite the detrimental decline in vigilance our perceived level of vigilance will be normal.
Lost sleep reduces productivity, diminishes concentration, and impairs memory. It lowers creativity, reduces the ability to communicate, impairs motor skills, and increases stress and anxiety. Assessing your genetic sleep variations and establishing effective sleep strategies are essential steps in the process of sleep optimization.
Sleep requirements: Teens need 9-10 hours of sleep whereas adults need seven to nine hours of sleep.
SLEEP DISTURBANCES
WHAT THIS MEANS
Sleep is the most important thing you can do to improve your performance in life. Sleep quality is determined by a complex network of interacting physiological processes which are strongly influenced by lifestyle.
It is influenced by the amount of deep sleep, the number of rapid eye movement (REM) episodes, and the number and duration of waking episodes. When our lifestyle is not in sync with our chronotype, sleep quality can be significantly impacted.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Genetic predispositions can provide a directed approach that can be taken to improve sleep quality. It’s important to align with your circadian propensity before addressing sleep quality.
DAYTIME DROWSINESS | NARCOLEPSY
WHAT THIS MEANS
Daytime drowsiness involves a decreased ability to regulate sleep/wake cycles.
Narcolepsy is often caused by a lack of the brain chemical hypocretin [orexin] which regulates wakefulness. This lack of brain chemicals is thought to be caused by the immune system mistakenly attacking the cells that produce it or the receptors that allow it to work.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Certain genotypes may predispose individuals to increased daytime drowsiness propensity in combination with micronutrient deficiencies.
SLEEP MOVEMENT
WHAT THIS MEANS
Excessive sleep movement is a condition that can disrupt your sleep. It is characterized by a need to move the legs and tends to be worse while attempting to sleep.
Spontaneous movements are triggered by rest, relaxation, or sleep. Potential causes include iron deficiency, genetic predisposition, brain neurotransmitter imbalances, and increased brain glutamate.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Genetic propensities are based on probability. It is certainly possible to experience the symptoms without a genetic predisposition.
The genetic variations can provide interventions that will have a higher probability of mitigating expression.
SLEEP CHANGES EVERYTHING
The keys to your mansion of unparalleled health, performance, and longevity are heightened when lifestyle matches chronotype. Performance optimization cannot occur without first enhancing health. Examining your sleep habits is the foremost starting point.
Homeostasis is the dynamic interaction between genetics and lifestyle [nature and nurture]. Synergy is the lynchpin. It all begins with sleep. When you understand its immediate and long-term impact on every aspect of your life it becomes necessary to optimize your genetic blueprint via healthy, consistent sleep habits.
We have the technology to eliminate the guesswork, decode superhuman, and propel your limitless potential. Epigenetics represents an unprecedented, bold, medical paradigm leveraging cutting-edge technology to shift genetic expression with mind-blowing results in life and sport.
Epigenetics provides visionary, incisive, evidence-based measures, and strategic actions to genetically optimize and enhance health, performance, and longevity – because life begins and ends at the cellular level.
Merge knowledge of your genetic code, blood analysis, and biological age with customized, curated consults tailored to your desired outcomes. Everything changes when you discover the difference between effort and struggle in life and sport…and sleep.
Find more info at Performance Medicine™.
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