8 surprising traits you can inherit from your parents, relatives

Thanks to advancements in science, we now know more about the genetic components of inheritable medical conditions. According to a study published in Nature Genetics, personality traits such as creativity, extraversion, and compassion may also correlate to specific genetic variants.

As genetics research evolves, researchers are hopeful we’ll soon discover more about the impact of genetics and the environment on psychological traits.

Below are eight physical and psychological traits and conditions that researchers have linked to genetics.

1. Insomnia

A study conducted by the Sleep Foundation revealed that insomnia can be genetic. According to their research, your heritability gives you an up to 58% chance of struggling with numerous aspects of sleep. These issues include; how many hours of sleep you need, obstructive sleep apnea and your circadian rhythms.

2. Facial expressions

A 2006 study conducted in Israel found that facial expressions associated with concentration, sadness, and anger can be inherited. Researchers videotaped 21 people born blind and 30 of their relatives with healthy sight. Participants were asked to solve challenging puzzles, listen to a disgusting story, recount a sad or joyful personal experience, and respond to a silly question.

The blind participants had very similar facial expressions to their sighted relatives when concentrating, or experiencing anger and sadness. A computer program was also able to recognize similar facial expressions and correctly matched blind participants with their relatives 80% of the time.

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3. Caffeine response

Each person responds differently to caffeine. Some experience a sense of alertness and intense focus, while others find that it makes them jittery and can even bring on anxiety. The increasing amount of scientific evidence, as published by the National Library of Medicine, shows that these responses may be genetic.

Genetic factors may directly influence individual responses by changing the acute or chronic reactions to caffeine. They could also play an indirect role by altering the psychological or physiological processes related to the effects of caffeine.

4. Life satisfaction

A study of twins published in 2012 by an international team of researchers found that genes can explain about 33% of the variations reported in life satisfaction. Although at first, the researchers found greater life satisfaction among people with a certain variant of the 5-HTT serotonin transporter gene, they had difficulty recreating their results in an independent sample.

The findings suggest that more work is needed to better understand the relationship between the 5-HTT gene variant and life satisfaction.

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5. Widow’s peak

A V-shaped frontal hairline (a widow’s peak) is a morphogenetic trait inherited by people from their parents. Certain studies also show that there’s a link between a widow’s peak and craniofacial clefts, or malformations of part of the face. However, the association between a widow’s peak and the severity of these conditions has not yet been defined.

6. Sensitivity to bitter food

Only about a quarter of the population has a taste receptor gene called TAS2R38, which can make foods such as leafy greens and beers taste bitter. This perceived bitterness varies among individuals and depends on how strongly food compounds bind to the receptor.

In a 2014 study of 93 Caucasian participants, TAS2R38 was associated with a bitter taste on the papillae of the tongue when it was swabbed with ethyl alcohol. The researchers concluded that variations in the TAS2Rs gene may explain why alcoholic beverages taste bitter to some people, but not to others.

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7. Sneezing in the sun

Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helioopthalmic Outburst syndrome (ACHOO syndrome), is characterized by a person sneezing after suddenly being exposed to bright light, usually strong sunlight.

The cause of ACHOO syndrome is not well understood. However, researchers do know it is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait, meaning that if one parent is affected, a child has a 50% chance of inheriting ACHOO syndrome.

8. Optimism

The oxytocin receptor gene (also known as the OXTR gene) codes for the receptor of the same name, causing this hormone to bind and affects the whole body. Studies have linked part of the OXTR gene to psychological traits including optimism.

A 2011 study suggests that people with a certain variation of the OXTR gene inherited from both parents are more optimistic than those who inherited the variation from only one parent or not at all.

Influence of genetics on your life

While genetic testing can predict a lot of the traits you’re likely to inherit, it is almost never 100%. Your genes simply influence your medical future, looks and personality. But these aspects are also influenced by external factors, such as where you reside, what you eat and drink, your job and much more.