SYDNEY, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Genetics may determine whether you're a morning person or night owl, with a new international study released on Wednesday identifying 327 new genes associated with a person's sleep time, or chronotype.
Initially the team, which included scientists from Australia's University of Queensland (UQ), analysed genetic variations in a total of 697,828 people based on self-reported preference for mornings.
Their analysis increased the number of known genetic loci associated with chronotype from 24 to 351.
The study further analyzed 85,000 people through the use of wrist worn activity monitors, confirming that the desire to either sleep in or get up in the morning is genetic.
This does not mean, according to study author Dr. Enda Byrne from UQ, that our habits can't and don't change.
"Studies estimate between 12 percent to 42 percent of the variance is attributable to genes and this study looked specifically at the genetic component," Bryne said.
Byrne also noted that chronotypes change naturally with time, although dramatic shifts are probably not possible.
"Teenagers and young adults tend to be shifted towards late chronotypes (they go to bed and get up later), but then there is a shift back towards earlier patterns with increasing age," he said.
