Over one in three Swedes are suffering from sleep disorders of varying degrees, according to statistics from the Public Health Authority.
An extensive Nordic study now shows that children of parents with sleep difficulties are at higher risk of being affected themselves.
- We already know that health and lifestyle factors such as exercise, diet and age affect sleep and wanted to investigate how much the hereditary factors play in, says Eva Lindberg, professor at Uppsala University and one of the researchers behind the study published in the scientific journal Sleep Medicine .
Nearly 6,000 women and men and as many of their children as children have participated in the study, which is a collaboration between Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Estonia and Denmark. The study has focused on common sleep problems such as difficulty sleeping, loud snoring and restless sleep.
Unique study- We saw a pretty big connection both for sleep disorders and how much you sleep per night. Among the parents who slept less than six hours, it was much more common for their children to do the same.
This is not the first time that research is interested in heredity linked to sleep, but according to Torbjörn Åkerstedt, professor emeritus at the Stress Research Institute, the current study is unique in its kind.
- In the past you have compared sleeping habits of twins, but this is a comparison between two generations and I do not know that you have done before. It is a great study and an interesting result, he says.
Eva Lindberg and her research colleagues hope the study will help people to cope with their sleep problems.
- Sleep disorders are common, and we need to learn more if we are going to be able to address the causes. In order to prevent sleep problems, it is important to get a clearer picture of who is affected, she says.