A recent study in the academic journal Science has found that one percent of people who sleep fewer than the traditionally-recommended quota of eight hours per night really do only need six hours of shut-eye to feel rested and energetic the next day.\nAccording to a group of Swiss researchers, this one percent of people has a mutation of the gene DEC2, which allows them to sleep just enough to get by without the sleep deprivation-induced lethargy and other side effects that others may experience from receiving too few hours of sleep. Researchers also expressed hope that this discovery could one day lead to a medication that would affect and improve people's sleeping patterns, regardless of their genes. It is possible that humans would no longer need to spend the estimated one-third of their lives sleeping. Despite all this potential, however, a few possible setbacks remain. For instance, when researchers mutated the DEC2 gene in mice, although the natural amount of time spent sleeping decreased, the sleep seemed to be of lower quality. Regardless, it is still possible that this new discovery could solve the age-old dilemma of "not having enough hours in the day."\n-compiled by Kate Singleton
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