Genetic studies of accelerometer-based sleep measures yield new insights into human sleep behaviour

Sleep is an essential human function but its regulation is poorly understood. Using accelerometer data from 85,670 UK Biobank participants, we perform a genome-wide association study of 8 derived sleep traits representing sleep quality, quantity and timing, and validate our findings in 5,819 individuals. We identify 47 genetic associations at P
Quality, quantity and timing of sleep are important factors for overall human health. Here, the authors perform GWAS for sleep traits estimated using wearable accelerometers and identify 47 genetic associations, including 26 novel associations for measures of sleep quality and 10 for nocturnal sleep duration.