Penelope Wilson
Penelope Wilson
June 15, 2023 ·  2 min read

Why Women (And Certain Men) NEED Twice As Much Sleep as Most Men

According to a study conducted by Duke University, it has been discovered that women need a lot more sleep than men do in order to function properly.

This is because women experience more mental and and physical consequences from not having enough rest.

Aside from giving half of the population a good reason to sleep more, these studies could inspire a few new health recommendations for women who are at greater risk of psychological problems, heart disease and even depression due to lack of sleep.

Women-Need-Twice-as-Much-Sleep

The study was conducted by sleep expert Michael Breus, who has estimated men and women’s biological need for sleep by assessing their ability to deal with exhaustion.

According to Breus, the experiment was showed a drastic difference between genders.

“We found that women had more depression, women had more anger, and women had more hostility early in the morning,” Breus said.

Scientists believe that the key factor for the difference is mental energy.

Women tend to multitask more than men do, which results in using more mental energy.

If men expended as much mental energy as women did than they would probably need a few extra hours of sleep as well.

For example, a man who has a difficult, full-time job that requires a lot of decision making, lateral thinking and multitasking could also need much more sleep than the average male.

The Science of Sleep

A clinical trial conducted in 2013 by researches from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine showed a correlation between resting and accelerated skin aging.

However other studies have linked the poor sleeping patterns to a higher risk of heart disease, stroke, and blood clots.

Every average adult needs somewhere between 7-9 hours of good sleep every single day. With that being said, the average person usually falls of short on that quota by an hour or two.

Source:

Duke University study: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/duke-university-scientists-find-women-need-more-sleep-than-men/story-fneuz9ev-1226596253113

Case Western Reserve University clinical trial: http://www.uhhospitals.org/about/media-news-room/current-news/2013/07/estee-lauder-clinical-trial-finds-link-between-sleep-deprivation-and-skin-aging

Sleeping and heart disease: http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/how-sleep-affects-your-heart

How much should you sleep: http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/adult-sleep-needs-and-habits