If you've read hamlet, there's a chance you'll remember this line: "'tis a consummation devoutly to be wished - to sleep - to sleep, perchance to dream."
Sounds like even Shakespeare knew the value of a good night's sleep. Do we? Not hardly. Used to be we were told 8 hours was the minimum. Now were lucky to get 6 hours of sleep.
But now researchers in Germany have hit an all-time low. Doctors at the Ludwig Maximilians University have tapped into a gene that allows humans to exist and function on a mere four hours of sleep per night.
Oh yes. You know those annoying people who skip and giggle all day and proudly proclaim they do just fine with little or no sleep. Turns out they (along with fruitflies) have a special gene called abcc9 that gives them the ability to sleep deeper and more efficiently in a just few hours than the rest of us do all night.
So in theory, scientists could isolate the gene and use it to develop a drug that would reduce the amount of daily sleep required in humans to four hours or less. Just think of the possibilities, more time to spend at work, no more excuses not to get the lawn done and all that extra time to spend cuddling with the missus talking about feelings.
Oh boy!
Wake the rest of us up when that drug finally gets here.
