We all need sleep in order to survive, but some of us need more hours each night than others. While it’s not understood exactly why this is, scientists may be one step closer to uncovering the complexities of slumber.
In a new study published on Thursday in the journal PLOS Genetics, researchers used artificially bred fruit flies to examine the role of genes in the sleep process.
“This study is an important step toward solving one of the biggest mysteries in biology: the need to sleep,” lead study author Susan Harbison, an investigator in the Laboratory of Systems Genetics at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), said in a statement. “The involvement of highly diverse biological processes in sleep duration may help explain why the purpose of sleep has been so elusive.”