Women are more likely to sleep better than men… but still complain about it, new study finds
Women are more likely to complain about having a poor night’s sleep, even if their eyes are adequately closed, according to a new study.
Researchers analyzed data from nearly 500 people, tracking brain activity, breathing and movements during sleep, before asking participants about their views on their nightly sleep.
The results, published in the journal Sleep Advances, reveal a clear pattern. On average, women rated their sleep quality as worse than men, even though objective measures showed they slept better.
Dr. Emeritus Professor of Clinical Neuroscience at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. ‘It’s a paradox, but we found a possible explanation for why sleep quality is perceived so differently by men and women,’ says Torbjörn Åkerstedt.
‘Our results suggest that men’s more positive view of their sleep may be partly due to the fact that they do not perceive or remember brief awakenings during the night as much as women do. But we don’t know why yet.’
The study found that women were much more accurate in estimating how many times they woke up during the night than men, who underestimated how often they woke up.
On average, men spent less time awake each time they woke up. Regardless of wake time, men with shorter wake time generally rated their sleep quality as good, while women generally rated their sleep quality as worse.
The study also shows that sleep differences between men and women become more pronounced with age.
The study found that women were much more accurate in estimating how many times they woke up during the night than men, who underestimated how often they woke up.
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At older ages, men experienced less deep sleep and more awakenings per hour, while women’s objective sleep was less disrupted but they continued to report poorer sleep quality than men.
The findings come as a result of research by mattress manufacturer Simba; It found that 69 per cent of Britons lie awake at night unable to switch off, with racing thoughts and restless minds hindering sleep.
The survey, which questioned 2,000 people, found that 80 per cent of those aged 16-24 reported having trouble shutting down before bed, followed by 77 per cent of those aged 35-44.
The survey confirmed findings from the latest trial; women more likely to report a poor night’s sleep; 77 percent experience sleepless nights compared to 62 percent of men.
Stress, financial pressures, work demands and social concerns are among the biggest causes of poor quality sleep.
Getting a good night’s sleep is one of the basic foundations of a healthy life.
Previous research has shown that disrupted sleep increases the risk of inflammation and weight gain in the body, which can lead to life-limiting chronic conditions.
Experts have warned that lack of sleep could be silently causing a rise in cancer diagnoses in young people.
It has long been suggested that people who regularly struggle to sleep, known as insomnia, are more likely to suffer from the disease than those who sleep well.
Sleep disorders are on the rise in the UK, where almost a fifth of adults don’t get enough sleep. Around one in three adults (16 million people) in the UK are thought to suffer from insomnia.
Frequent daytime sleepiness is also associated with heart disease, which increases the risk of heart attack or stroke, and neurodegenerative disorders, which gradually deprive patients of vital bodily functions.
