A review bringing together all the studies on the subject shows, for example, that the biological sleep cycle begins earlier in women.
Women and men are equal, but that doesn’t mean they should go to bed at the same time. We can all experience sleep disorders, but their causes are not necessarily the same depending on our gender.
Women report more fluctuations in their sleep during the month
Doctors from the universities of Stanford and Harvard (United States) and Southampton (United Kingdom) have listed all the studies that analyze the differences between men and women in relation to sleep. Their conclusions, published in a review on March 21, 2024 in the journal Sleep Medicine Reviewshighlight discrepancies in their biological rhythms and in the causes behind their difficulties in sleeping well.
“Recognizing and understanding sex differences in sleep and circadian rhythms is essential for refining treatment strategies for sleep disorders and associated mental health problems.”explains the sleep and circadian rhythms specialist from the University of Southampton in a press release, Sarah L. Chellappa, author of the review. Here are the main findings of their analysis.
In general, women judge that their sleep quality is lower than men. This could be linked to their greater likelihood of developing anxiety disorders (which affect women twice as often as men according to Inserm) likely to affect sleep.
Non-REM sleep is longer in women
Another cause could be hormonal variations caused by periods: women report more problems sleeping (insomnia, nocturnal awakenings, nightmares, etc.) during the first days of their menstruation and the week preceding them, compared to the rest of the month. .
According to a study, women sleep a few minutes more than men for the same amount of time in bed, meaning that women’s sleep would be a[…]
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