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Article: Only need four hours sleep? It's in the genes.
- Article from:
- Daily Mail (London)
- Article date:
- April 28, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Solo Syndication Limited. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: ROBIN YAPP
MARGARET Thatcher famously needed just four hours sleep a night during her time as Prime Minister.
But her ability to run the country on such little rest may have been due to her genes, rather than simply her iron will.
Scientists have found a gene mutation which explains why some people can function normally despite sleeping less than the rest of us.
But there may be a price to pay - sleeping less can increase the likelihood of an early death.
A study at Wisconsin University Medical School in the U.S. looked at the sleeping habits of fruit flies, which share many of the same genes as humans and have similar sleep patterns.
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