Editing Insomnia (section)

=== Genetics ===

[[Heritability]] estimates of insomnia vary between 38% in males to 59% in females.<ref name=Lind>{{cite journal | vauthors = Lind MJ, Aggen SH, Kirkpatrick RM, Kendler KS, Amstadter AB | title = A Longitudinal Twin Study of Insomnia Symptoms in Adults | journal = Sleep | volume = 38 | issue = 9 | pages = 1423–30 | date = September 2015 | pmid = 26132482 | pmc = 4531410 | doi = 10.5665/sleep.4982 }}</ref> A [[genome-wide association study]] (GWAS) identified 3 genomic loci and 7 [[genes]] that influence the risk of insomnia and showed that insomnia is highly polygenic.<ref name=Hammerschlag>{{cite journal | vauthors = Hammerschlag AR, Stringer S, de Leeuw CA, Sniekers S, Taskesen E, Watanabe K, Blanken TF, Dekker K, Te Lindert BH, Wassing R, Jonsdottir I, Thorleifsson G, Stefansson H, Gislason T, Berger K, Schormair B, Wellmann J, Winkelmann J, Stefansson K, Oexle K, Van Someren EJ, Posthuma D | title = Genome-wide association analysis of insomnia complaints identifies risk genes and genetic overlap with psychiatric and metabolic traits | journal = Nature Genetics | volume = 49 | issue = 11 | pages = 1584–92 | date = November 2017 | pmid = 28604731 | pmc = 5600256 | doi = 10.1038/ng.3888 }}</ref> In particular, a strong positive association was observed for the [[MEIS1]] gene in both males and females. This study showed that the genetic architecture of insomnia strongly overlaps with psychiatric disorders and metabolic traits.

It has been hypothesized that epigenetics might also influence insomnia through a controlling process of both sleep regulation and brain-stress response, having an impact as well on brain plasticity.<ref name="palagini">{{cite journal | vauthors = Palagini L, Biber K, Riemann D | title = The genetics of insomnia – evidence for epigenetic mechanisms? | journal = Sleep Medicine Reviews | volume = 18 | issue = 3 | pages = 225–35 | date = June 2014 | pmid = 23932332 | doi = 10.1016/j.smrv.2013.05.002 }}</ref>