Do women need more sleep than men?

Q: I heard that women need a few hours of sleep overnight than men. Is it true?

If you are browsing social media to get information on hearty sleep habits, you can come across One of many posts Arguing that women require more sleep than men – “dramatically more sleep“Some even say. The reasons given differ, including hormonal differences and the view that women have Faster brains than men.

As it turns out, we do not have any reasonable research that suggests that these claims are true.

“There is no evidence that there is a fundamental biological reason for women need more sleep,” said Dr. Suzanne Bertisch, a doctor specializing in sleep disorders in Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

On average, women seem to spend a few minutes in bed every night than men, but this does not mean that they require more sleep, she said.

Men and women sleep differently

Only a handful of research assessed the differences during sleep among men and women. IN breakthrough From 2013, scientists have analyzed data from a survey from over 56,000 adults in the United States. When the participants were asked how they spent the time for the last 24-hour period, women reported that devoting an average of 11 minutes to sleep the previous night than men.

This did not necessarily mean that women actually slept 11 minutes more than men. As the study explained, the time participants also included the minutes they spent on the attempt to sleep – and women are far away More likely than men To experience insomnia, said Rebecca Robbins, sleep scientist and medical medical assistant professor. The 2013 study showed that women were almost five times more likely that men report breaks of sleep as a result of care, usually for a child.

Studies suggest that women experience lower quality sleep than men – regardless of whether they are carers or not. IN Online survey 2023 For example, out of over 2,000 adults from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, researchers have found that women were almost twice as much as men say that they rarely or never wake up, feeling good.

What is the drowning of women’s sleep

As for why women tend to sleep more badly than men, scientists do not have clear answers. But they have some theories.

The progesterone hormone is related Better to sleepAnd when progesterone immerses itself just before menstruation, women tend to sleep better, said Shelby Harris, a clinical psychologist in Recent York, who specializes in sleep disorders. Women often report difficulties with sleep in progress Time leading to menopause and after itAlso when hormone levels change.

Compared to men, women also tend to More caring and home houseworkwhich can make it arduous for women to fall and fall asleep. Remembering to receive arid cleaning, checking out relatives, take children to school and make an appointment with a doctor – “All these little things can contribute to worries, and worry and stress are the two greatest disturbances of our sleep”, dr. Said Robbins.

Sleep disorders, such as insomnia, sleep apnea and restless legs are becoming more and more common in women as aging. Women with sleep apnea Often unrecognizedBecause they are not so likely that men will have some symptoms, such as snoring or awakening to catch air, said Dr. Rachel Salas, a neurologist and sleep medicine specialist at Johns Hopkins Medicine.

How to know if you have enough rest

The time when people sleep – and the quality of this sleep – they don’t tell us anything about how much sleep they should achieve. “It’s not necessarily the same,” said Dr. Robbins.

National Sleep Foundation claims that adults generally need somewhere seven to nine hours of sleep Dr. Harris said that every night, but the exact amount may vary depending on the person. “There is no single magic number,” she said.

Dr. Robbins added that sleep tracking with a smartwatch or other tracking device can be helpful to make sure you get at least seven hours at night. But often the best way to determine if you have enough sleep is to assess how you feel during the day. If you are regularly exhausted, it may be a sign that you do not have enough sleep, and you can even have a sleep disturbance.

“If you feel that you have enough, but you are still tired or have problems with not sleeping,” said Dr. Salas, “These are reasons to talk to the doctor.”