Key Takeaways
|
It’s Halloween night. A porch light flickers, a bowl of candy waits by the door and somewhere down the block a kid in a spider costume is about to make someone scream. Halloween is the one night a year many of us go looking for a scare on purpose. So why do some people love the thrill while others watch from behind a pillow? Part of the answer may lie in your genetics.
23andMe scientists ask consenting research participants about all kinds of traits, from whether they can curl their tongue to how they feel about spiders and horror films. This Halloween we’re revisiting some of the data to put together a few classic Halloween personalities. Which one sounds like you?
The Scaredy Cat: Is Fear of Heights and Spiders in Your DNA?
23andMe researchers identified 392 genetic markers associated with being afraid of heights. They combined those markers with age and sex to build a statistical model that estimates a person’s likelihood of having this fear. The average 23andMe research participant has a 29% chance of being afraid of heights. Across the pond, a 23andMe survey of UK research participants found that 37% of Brits have an excessive fear of something, with fear of heights topping the list.
Why heights in particular? When you stand upright, your brain uses visual cues from nearby objects to make tiny balance adjustments. At the edge of a tall building, those nearby cues disappear and everything in view is too far away to help, so most people feel a little off balance.
Spiders are another classic Halloween fright. In 2022, about 38% of 23andMe research participants said they were afraid of spiders, compared with about 22% of the general population. People who reported a fear of spiders were also more likely to report a fear of heights. Female participants were about twice as likely as male participants to say they fear spiders, 45% vs. 22%, and older participants were less likely to have a fear of spiders.
The Candy Fiend: Is Your Sweet Tooth Genetic?
Your preference for sweet or salty snacks is partly genetic. 23andMe researchers identified 43 genetic markers associated with this taste preference. A few are in or near genes involved in brain development or function, and others are in genes associated with metabolism or body mass.
Taste starts on your tongue and finishes in your brain. With each bite, your taste buds send signals to a brain area called the primary gustatory cortex, which identifies the taste. Another area, the orbitofrontal cortex, helps judge whether you like it. And you can forget the tongue map from school: receptors for sweet, salty and bitter tastes are spread all over your tongue and mouth.
Taste preferences also shift over time. In 23andMe survey data, older participants were more likely to prefer sweet candy over sour candy. That may reflect natural changes in taste perception as we age. So if your grandparents always hand out chocolate while your teenager hoards the sour gummies, there may be some science behind it.
The Creature of the Night: Are Night Owls Born That Way?
Whether you’re an early bird or a night owl is also influenced in part by your genes. 23andMe researchers identified 450 genetic markers associated with being a morning person or a night person. Your internal clock does more than nudge you toward bed. Some of the genes that run the body’s internal clock also help regulate body temperature and hormone levels. For night owls, Halloween may be one of the few holidays that runs on their schedule.
Whether you spend October 31 peeking through your fingers, sorting your candy or staying up long after the last trick-or-treater, your DNA may play a small part in how you celebrate. Your environment, experiences and other factors matter too, which is why no two Halloween personalities are quite the same. Happy Halloween from all of us at 23andMe.
