A study has shown that ‘morning people’, who have the habit of waking up early in the morning, may be influenced by Neanderthal genes.
According to foreign media such as the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 14th (local time), research results were published in the scientific journal ‘Genome Biology and Evolution’ showing that if you have certain Neanderthal genes, you are likely to be a morning person.
The researchers compared the genes of modern humans with the DNA of Neanderthals and Denisovans, another extinct ancient human species. They used the health and genetic information of hundreds of thousands of people in Europe.
As a result, 246 genes related to day and night biological rhythms were identified, and it was revealed that people with specific genes derived from Neanderthals prefer to wake up early.
“We found that many Neanderthal genetic variants were consistently associated with a tendency to become morning people,” Professor Capra said.
Homo sapiens, the direct ancestor of today’s humans, emerged in Africa about 300,000 years ago. In Africa, the length of day and night remains approximately the same throughout the year.
On the other hand, Neanderthals migrated to high latitudes. In high-latitude environments, days become longer in summer and shorter in winter. Therefore, from 400,000 BC, they developed a new biological rhythm that quickly adapted to the time zone of day and night.
Professor Capra explained that previous research has shown that going to bed early and waking up early is associated with circadian rhythms that adapt more quickly to natural day-night changes. People who can understand and adapt to nature’s day and night time zone changes more quickly tend to wake up earlier in the morning.
Approximately 2% of the genes of today’s Europeans and Asians appear to have come from Neanderthals. Therefore, there are people in Europe and Asia who can quickly understand and adapt to natural day and night changes due to the influence of certain genes from Neanderthals.
The researchers said that these people are natural ‘morning people.’
However, Princeton University professor Joshua Urkey pointed out that although some Neanderthal genomes may be related to morning people, the variables that determine morning people are very complex.
Kim Ye-seul,
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.