Why Women Struggle to Sleep More Than Men

Numerous studies have proved the importance of sleep to human health—a better state of physical, mental, and emotional health results from this time of rest and recovery for the brain and body.

Everybody needs beauty rest, but men and women have different sleep needs.

However, in recent years, sleep science has made strides toward a more nuanced comprehension of sleep disparities between the sexes. Different sleep disorders manifest differently for women and men, and studies have shed light on the sex differences in sleep duration and quality.

It's unfair that women have a more challenging time sleeping than males, but it's a fact nonetheless. As a result, women are more prone than males to suffer from tiredness during the day, difficulty focusing on tasks, and even physical issues like increased sickness and weight gain.

It's also possible that women are more prone to exhaustion than males because they require 20 extra minutes of sleep per night.

Insomnia affects both sexes equally; however, more women than men suffer from it. Insomnia affects more than 25% of American women and less than 20% of American males.

How come it's so hard for women to get the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep each night? Let's investigate this further to discover what's happening with women's sleep.

Some social and biological variables that keep women awake at night are discussed here.

The hormones in men and women have different effects on sleep. A woman's sleep may be severely disrupted by hormonal changes at other points in her life:

When a woman reaches adolescence, her body produces significantly more estrogen and progesterone than usual in preparation for her monthly menstrual cycle. A drop in these hormones may cause physical and mental symptoms, such as insomnia, in the days leading up to a woman's menstruation. Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is diagnosed when these effects are particularly bothersome, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder is identified when symptoms are especially severe (PMDD). Both PMS and PMDD frequently cause severe sleep disruptions.

Hormonal shifts frequently occur throughout pregnancy and might make it difficult for a woman to fall asleep. These modifications may affect the timing and structure of your slumber. Many pregnant women say they experience worse sleep during their third trimester, even though hormonal changes begin earlier in pregnancy. It's estimated that about half of all pregnant women will experience some form of insomnia, and the difficulty sleeping may last into the postpartum period for some.

When a woman reaches menopause, she experiences profound shifts in hormone production and the end of menstruation. During the perimenopausal years, a woman's body changes in preparation for menopause. During perimenopause and menopause, as many as 85% of women experience sleep disturbances. It is due to hormonally caused alterations to circadian rhythm, distressing hot flashes, and nocturnal sweats.

It's not a surprise that suffering can keep you up at night. Women are disproportionately affected by painful conditions. Migraines, tension headaches, arthritis, and heartburn are all more common in women than in males, so it's no surprise that they can keep you up at night.

Restless leg syndrome, a neurological illness characterized by an overwhelming urge to move one's legs, is likewise more common in women than men. Insomnia and nighttime awakenings caused by restless legs are common complaints.

Women nowadays have several challenges, including the need to care for themselves and their families, as well as their aging parents and other relatives. All of these commitments can cut into the time you'd ideally spend in bed sleeping. Additionally, the pressure of managing everything can make it difficult to get quality rest.

Many health issues can interrupt sleep, and many of them impact men and women differently.

Men are disproportionately affected by poor sleep quality due to cardiovascular disease and chronic lung difficulties. Drinking to excess is more common among males, which is problematic because alcohol has been shown to affect healthy sleep patterns.

Depression and anxiety, which are more common in women than males, are known contributors to sleep disturbances. More than 75% of women over 40 suffer from nocturia, the medical term for the disruption of sleep brought on by frequent urinating at night. This is generally related to a greater incidence of incontinence and hyperactive bladder in women. Acid reflux and heartburn are more common among women and can disrupt sleep quality.

It is becoming increasingly clear that women in the United States, on average, obtain total sleep per day than males do, when both nighttime sleep and daytime naps are taken into account. According to the results of one comprehensive study, this average time gap varied from five to twenty-eight minutes, depending on the participants' ages.

Likewise, women are disproportionately affected by sleep disruptions and poor sleep quality. That is why most women today just readily purchase sleeping pills zopiclone uk, to help them sleep better and longer. 

Some studies have hypothesized that many women intentionally get more hours of sleep to make up for the fact that they get poorer quality sleep overall.

It's crucial to remember that sleep varies significantly from individual to the next and is affected by various things. The results of sleep studies that demonstrate a difference between the sexes in quantity or quality should be interpreted with caution lest they be construed as meaning that all women sleep more or have poorer quality sleep than males.