While research tells us that women need more sleep than men, it's also the case that women tend to sleep slightly longer than men — by just over 11 minutes. The bad news, however, is that women's sleep may be lower quality than men's, perhaps due to differences in how they spend their day.
Although studies about women's time use and sleep quality suggest they may have less time for sleep than men, particularly among employed parents of small children, existing sleep studies show that women sleep longer than men.
DARIEN, IL – A new study suggests that men and women are affected differently by sleep disorders. Results show that women are more likely than men to have more severe symptoms of depression, trouble sleeping at night, and excessive daytime sleepiness.
Women suffer more than men from sleep deprivation. The Sleep Cycle survey also reveals American women getting in more screen time before turning in for the night, while men do more snoring, sleepwalking and sleep eating.
Women tend to require more sleep than men because of their “complex” brains, according to research. Scientists found that around 20 minutes more sleep was needed by women compared to men - and said this was thought to be because the female brain works harder during the day.
Recent findings: Women have better sleep quality compared with men, with longer sleep times, shorter sleep-onset latency and higher sleep efficiency. Despite this, women have more sleep-related complaints than men. The amount of slow-wave sleep decreases with age in men and women.
But when looking at why men seem to fall asleep faster, it's actually due to a cocktail of chemicals released when they ejaculate. These include norepinephrine, serotonin, oxytocin, vasopressin, nitric oxide (NO), and the hormone prolactin.
The study found that women need about 20 minutes more sleep a night than men and that inadequate sleep in women (poor sleep and sleep-related problems) was associated with higher risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
The reasons for this lack of sleep parity, say University of California at Los Angeles researchers: fluctuating hormones caused by menstrual cycles, pregnancy and menopause, which interfere with women's sleep patterns. And you may have already guessed: the daily battles of balancing life and work obligations.
After a child is born, it is often the mom who wakes up in the middle of the night to care for that child. Consequently it is also often the mother who is lacking the most sleep. Now a study from scientists at Duke University claims that moms, and women in general, need more sleep than men.
Interestingly, the study also showed that women tend to sleep about an average of 11 minutes longer each night than their male counterparts do. Women may sleep for a little longer, but men sleep better overall. Some couples even sleep in separate beds.
In short, the answer is a resounding yes. Getting plenty of rest will help you look your best, as long as you don't fall asleep in your makeup. But not all sleep is created equal, so let's take a look at why beauty rest works and what you should know to maximize the advantages.
Sleep Keeps Your Heart Healthy
“Poor sleep quality is linked to heart health problems, from high blood pressure to heart attacks,” says Paruthi. Here's why: Regularly shortchanging yourself on sleep can lead to a surge in stress hormones such as cortisol.
Teachers call on boys more often than girls, ask boys more higher-order questions, give boys more extensive feedback, and use longer wait-time with boys than girls. Teachers fail to see girls' raised hands, and limit their interactions with girls to social, non-academic topics.
It's a necessity — especially when you're pregnant. In fact, women who are pregnant need a few more hours of sleep each night or should supplement nighttime sleep with naps during the day, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Tips for Better Sleep
Reducing caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol intake. Avoiding electronic devices in the leadup to bedtime. Ensuring that you have a quiet, dark, and comfortably cool sleep environment free of distractions. Keeping naps to 30 minutes or less (and not too close to bedtime).
Hormonal and lifestyle differences like pregnancy, menstruation, and menopause mean that women need more iron than men in their diet, but few women actually get as much as they need. The result—anemia's—most common symptoms include fatigue and weakness.
According to the report, baby girls get an extra 4.5 hours of sleep on average over the course of a month.
In general, women and men have the same nightly sleep needs. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that healthy adults of any gender get between seven and nine hours of sleep.
To promote your bed-sleep connection, follow the quarter-of-an-hour rule: if you notice that you aren't asleep within around 15 minutes of going to bed, try getting out of bed, go to another room go through your wind down routine until you are feeling sleepy-tired and ready to return to bed for sleep.
"What we have found is that women, in many different tasks, process information about five times faster than men, and use much less of their brain to do identical cognitive performance."
Body composition was determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Results: The men demonstrated 87, 97 and 103% higher power output, and 51, 65 and 71% higher VO2peak (L min(−1)) than the women during WP, UP and AP, respectively, while utilizing ~10% more of their running VO2max in all modes (all P < 0.001).
Indeed, research has shown that women often score higher on emotional intelligence or empathy tests than men, especially, but not only [10], if measured through self-reports, such as the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i [11]) the Empathy Quotient [12], the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) [13], or emotional ...
Generally, both men and women need 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night. However, it has been found that because women use their prefrontal cortex (front of brain) more for multitasking and due to their circadian rhythm being shorter, they need more sleep than men.