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A comment on Early morning university classes linked to poor sleep and academic performance. Parent comment

Re:Early morning university classes linked to poor sleep and... by lumb63 on Tuesday February 21, 2023 @09:11AM (#34881344)
To the contrary, there are genetic changes that correlate to different chronotypes [0]. I find interesting the hypothesis that chronotypes arose as a survival advantage because tribes could more naturally sleep in shifts to stay safe during the night time. I do think, however, the genetic component is overstated. I agree with you that it is more habit than anything, and lifestyle.

We as a society should do more research to determine how large the habit versus genetic components are, or publicize the information and act on it more if it is out there already. If we are fighting an unwinnable battle trying to adjust people in opposition to their genetics, we should change our practices. Similarly, if we are instilling a defeatist mindset into people (e.g. “I can’t do that, I’m not an early bird”) which cannot be justified by science, we should change our perception.

[0]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6084759/

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Early morning university classes linked to poor sleep and... by edgyquant on Tuesday February 21, 2023 @11:59AM (#34883456)
The fact it’s called a correlation shows it is not a fact that there are biological night owls.
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Re:Early morning university classes linked to poor sleep and... by seymourhersh on Tuesday February 21, 2023 @12:08PM (#34883612)
And it shows that it’s not a fact that there are not.
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Re:Early morning university classes linked to poor sleep and... by dahinds on Tuesday February 21, 2023 @02:30PM (#34885773)
In this case the correlation is due to a causal relationship between genetic variation and chronotype that is well established. The roles of many of the genes involved have been established in lab organisms -- fruit flys and mice mostly -- yes you can observe and manipulate chronotype in flys. The same circadian rhythm genes have similar functions in people. There are rare mutations in these genes that cause familial sleep disruption syndromes, as well as common variants that have small effects that can be detected in large studies.
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