Researchers have found that gene CRY1 is key to determining a person's sleep/wake cycles, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Cell.
A mutation in CRY1 may translate into an alteration of the circadian clock, which determines if people are early birds or night owls. Carriers of the mutation go to bed 2-2.5 hours later than non-carriers, which makes them feel as if they have a ceaseless jet lag. Michael Young, a professor at Richard and Jeanne Fisher and Head of the Laboratory of Genetics at The Rockefeller University, said these people usually wake up feeling they are not ready for the next day to come.
