News Life A gene for a short night’s sleep Genetic variation reduces amount of shut-eye in some people and in experiments on mice and fruit flies By Tina Hesman Saey August 13, 2009 at 3:10 pm - More than 2 years ago Share this:Share Share via email (Opens in new window) Email Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Share on X (Opens in new window) X Print (Opens in new window) Print Some people have an excuse for getting only six hours of shut-eye each night. One of their genes makes them do it. Two people who both sleep about six hours and 15 minutes per night have a rare variation of a gene called DEC2.