Should Women Sleep More Than Men Many people say that women need more sleep than men. Some even say that women need a lot more sleep.
Some people on social media attribute these claims to physical and hormonal differences. Others argue that women need more sleep because their brains work faster than men’s.
A study has shown that there is no evidence that women need more sleep than men.
The American newspaper The New York Times has published news about this, citing the statements of Dr. Suzanne Bertisch of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Regarding sleep problems, Dr Suzanne says, ‘Women spend more time in bed each night than men on average. But that doesn’t mean they need more sleep.’
In a landmark 2013 study, researchers analyzed sleep data from more than 56,000 U.S. adults.
Participants were asked how they had spent the most recent 24-hour period. Women reported sleeping an average of 11 minutes more than men.
Women are more likely than men to have trouble sleeping, according to Rebecca Robbins, a sleep scientist at Harvard Medical School. In a 2013 study, women reported that their sleep was disrupted by factors such as childcare, which was about five times more likely than men to have.
Other research has also shown that women, on average, experience lower quality sleep than men, even when they don’t have to care for children. In a 2023 online survey of more than 2,000 adults, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine found that women were nearly twice as likely as men to wake up feeling poorly or never well-rested.
Why do women sleep worse?
Scientists don’t have a clear answer as to why women don’t sleep as well as men. They have some guesses.
“The hormone progesterone helps us sleep better. When progesterone levels drop just before menstruation, women don’t sleep well,” says Shelby Harris, a New York-based psychologist who specializes in sleep disorders.
According to her, women have trouble sleeping because hormone levels change during and for a few days after menstruation.
How do you know if you’re getting enough sleep?
According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults generally need seven to nine hours of sleep each night. But this can vary from person to person.
“There’s no set number,” says Shelby Harris, a New York-based sleep specialist who specializes in sleep disorders. “But most people need at least seven hours of sleep.”
You can use a smartwatch or other tracking device to track how much sleep you get at night or to make sure you’re getting at least seven hours. But the best way to do that is to pay attention to how your body feels during the day, says Dr. Rebecca Robbins.
Regularly feeling tired during the day could be a sign of sleep deprivation or a sleep-related problem. If you feel tired even though you think you’ve gotten enough sleep, are constantly falling asleep, or have trouble staying awake, you should see a doctor.
