A rare gene has been discovered by scientists to be the cause for reducing the sleep needs in some people.

A mother-daughter duo was observed to have been sleeping just six hours a day to stay alert and healthy vis-à-vis the rest of the family.

Researchers found a rare mutation in a gene, called DEC2, which is believed to have caused this reduced need for sleep in the 69 year old mother and 44 year old daughter. They claim to have been sleeping for only six hours a day and feeling completely energetic.

Ying-Hui Fu, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues made this discovery and for the first time link a gene to human sleep behavior.

Fu proved his finding by genetically engineered mice to carry the human DEC2 gene. It was clearly found that the mice slept less and when deprived of sleep, they needed lesser time to recover.

When asked if a drug was made which did the same thing as the DEC2 mutation, he said "If I had a drug that gave a similar effect as DEC2, it is possible it would be pretty safe because the humans who carry it are safe with the mutation,"

Although the discovery of this gene is a breakthrough in the field but, Mehdi Tafti, PhD, a geneticist and sleep researcher at the University of Lausanne, notes that this gene affects only one part of the complex sleep process.

Tafti also says that before anyone makes a DEC2 drug, future research will identify more proteins that effect sleep needs.