Mouth Swab Tests Unwrap Sleep Patterns, Say Swansea Researchers

Do you find yourself nocturnally sky gazing, when the world is fast asleep? Well, its time for you to discover your sleep pattern and it can be done by a plain mouth swab.

Researchers at the Swansea University have developed the new technique of studying sleep pattern through mouth swab. This system can assist findings of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and chemotherapy effectiveness at certain times too.

This analysis identifies the genesdefine that regulate the sleep cycle. The usual sleep and wake pattern is known as circadian rhythm.

A number of genes manage the circadian rhythm and produce ribonucleic acid (RNA). The level of this acid present is indicative of how active an individual is at a given time.

The gene that is associated with sleep is called Per2 and is said to produce the maximum level of RNA at about 4am. Other gene associated with awaken state is called REV-ERB and produces maximum level of RNA at around 4pm.

The gene study was conducted at science festival in Cheltenham. The first test samples to study sleep cycles were collected in the festival. Samples collected will be investigated by the Swansea researchers and the results can be accessed online.

Sarah Forbes-Robertson, researcher at Swansea University, said if an individual makes higher levels of REV-ERB before 4pm then he is probably an early bird but if he makes higher levels after 4pm he is a night owl.

Many people attending the festival talked about their awful sleep and wake patterns and confessed that it takes a toll on their professional performance and personal relationships. There were couples who admitted that they do not sleep and get up together and it drives them crazy.

Swab procedure will pop answers in this study as researchers say. Also, the individual can carry on with their daily activities normally after being tested. Earlier, samples were to be taken every four hours or so for a full day to complete the test procedure. It will help the researchers to judge if gene expression is altered by medication like melatonin, used to treat jet lags. The research will also aid cancerdefine patients with their chemotherapy.

"It has been suggested that chemotherapy for cancer patients may be far more effective if administered at certain times of the day. Our techniques might be able to confirm this and explain why" said Ms Forbes-Robertson. "One interesting finding is that food affects gene expression. So, after lunch, Per2 has a small peak, leading to that post lunch slump," she stated.