Why Some People Like to Wake Up Early: New Research Reveals Neanderthal Connection

KOMPAS.com – Researchers have just revealed the reasons why some people like to wake up early.

According to the study, it could be related to humans’ extinct cousins, the Neanderthals.

Also read: Since when did interbreeding between modern humans and Neanderthals occur?

Previous studies have shown that Neanderthals not only lived side by side with Homo sapiens, they also interbred.

This admixture probably began when modern humans left Africa around 70,000 years ago and spread across Europe and Asia, later encountering Neanderthals in the region.

This interbreeding means that most of the current human population is estimated to have between 1 and 4 percent of its genome originating from Neanderthals.

And as quoted from Gizmodo, Friday (15/12/2023), this new study published in the journal Genome Biology and Evolution then states that some of these surviving genes may help turn us into people who like to wake up early.

Wake up in the morning

Our tendency to be early risers or night sleepers is largely influenced by our circadian rhythm, or internal body clock.

Although everyone’s body clock is roughly 24 hours long, some research suggests that a shorter circadian period may make us better at falling asleep and waking up earlier.

Other factors such as the latitude of an area also influence whether someone is an early riser or the type of person who stays up late at night.

And research shows that people wake up early in areas with higher latitudes.

Also read: What were the works of art made by Neanderthals?

Researchers speculate that because Neanderthals tended to live in higher latitudes, they would have had genetic variants adapted to enable them to wake up early.

Mingle with modern humans

When modern humans settled in the same region and intermingled with Neanderthals, those genes were then passed on to today’s humans and continue to provide an evolutionary advantage.

“By analyzing the remaining pieces of Neanderthal DNA in the modern human genome, we discovered a striking trend in which many genes influence the modern human body clock and increase a person’s tendency to wake up early,” explained John Capra, an epidemiologist at the University of California at San Francisco. as reported by the Guardian.

Although Neanderthals may have helped some people wake up early, there is still much that is unknown about the influence of this gene.

Researchers also plan to carry out similar research on other, more diverse human populations and test in the laboratory how Neanderthal genes can influence morning waking habits.

Also read: Neanderthals Extinct Due to Mating with Homo Sapiens, Study Explains

Get selected news updates and breaking news every day from Kompas.com. Let’s join the Telegram Group “Kompas.com News Update”, by clicking the link https://t.me/kompascomupdate, then join. You must install the Telegram application first on your cellphone.

2023-12-21 02:32:00
#People #Wake #Early #Neanderthal #DNA #Explains #Kompas.com