Neanderthals May Have Passed Down a Quicker Body Clock to Early Risers

According to a new study, the genetics inherited from Neanderthal and Denisovan ancestors may influence an individual’s preference for being a morning person. This unexpected finding suggests that DNA passed down from these archaic humans has influenced our body clocks.

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, led by Tony Capra, made this discovery. They found that certain genetic variants linked to morningness were more common in people who had inherited DNA from Neanderthals and Denisovans.

These genetic variants were passed down from a common ancestor we shared with the archaic humans. Despite the genetic divergence between modern humans and Neanderthals and Denisovans, some traits, including morningness, have been retained in our DNA.