Women need 20 minutes' more sleep than men, suggests study

The research initiated by Professor Jim Horne and his colleagues from the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University found that 18 percent of women complain of a bad night sleep at least five days in a week compared to only 8 percent men.

Professor Horne, who is the lead author of the study and also director at the Sleep Research Centre, informs, “Women need 20 minutes more shut-eye than the average man. This is because women’s brains are wired differently from men’s and are more complex, so their sleep need is slightly greater.”

“A man who has a complex job that involves a lot of decision-making and lateral thinking may also need more sleep than the average male — though probably still not as much as a woman,” he further states.

Why do women need more sleep?
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine claims that women tend to sleep light and are more easily disturbed while sleeping than men and this leads to lack of sleep in women. Deep sleep is necessary to refresh the brain for the complex tasks that are a part of a woman’s life.

Prof Jim Horne says, “During deep sleep, the cortex — part of the brain responsible for thought memory, language and so on — disengages from the senses and goes into recovery mode. The more a person uses his brain during the day, the more sleep he needs at night to recover.”

The researchers also establish that as a woman’s work involves a lot of decision-making and lateral thinking, they tend to use more brain than men and this also results in a need for more sleep.

Lack of sleep in women
Another research team from North Carolina has proposed that women do need more sleep than men, but they usually suffer from lack of sleep.

Women suffer from diverse sleep disturbance problem that vary from age to age.

Pregnant women get sleep deprived due to the extra weight and position of the baby in their womb, which makes movement difficult for them.

With age, sleep becomes lighter, and older women have a restless sleep during the menopause cycle.

“Also our studies have found that when people share a bed, the lighter one tends to get moved around and woken up by the heavier one - normally the man,” says Prof Jim Horne.

What can women do?
The sleep problem can be solved in women if they stop worrying about it and sleep with a relaxed state of mind. A restless mind leads to a restless sleep that may result in sleep disorders in women.

Exercising regularly, avoiding caffeinated drinks, following a routine for sleep and listening to the music of your choice are some of the ways for boosting sleep.