The way that the male and female bodies work is different in many ways and one of the elements that vary is the amount of sleep that men and women should get every night. Research has found that women need more sleep compared to men. Women can experience some fantastic mental and health benefits from sleeping a little extra than men.
But why do women need more sleep? Well, there is a range of reasons that we’re about to take a look at in this post.
Hormones Can Affect Sleep
Hormonal changes during puberty are one of the main reasons why girls need more sleep than men. The changes in the hormones in a female body lead to periods and menopause for women.
Furthermore, pregnancy can have a big impact on the hormones that require women to sleep more. Experiencing these hormonal changes can be mentally tiring which drains women more and makes them need more sleep compared to men who don’t have to deal with any of these elements.
Women Are Often Busier Than Men
It’s more common for women to work part-time or full-time and come home to look after their children. The tasks that go into looking after children tend to include cooking, taking kids back and forth for any activities, as well as helping with homework.
So, it’s pretty clear why women who work and take care of their children need to sleep more. They’re more physically active and the days can feel long which takes a toll on you mentally.
This is also evident among different cultures around the world and it’s not a healthy habit for women. The routines can be incredibly demanding and it can lead to women getting a lack of sleep without having the opportunity to properly catch up.
Therefore, it’s a good idea for men to step in more often where they can to alleviate some of the pressure and give women more time to relax and be able to sleep properly.
Women’s Brains Work At A Faster Pace
The female mind tends to work differently to men when it comes to intuition and being able to analyze things. Furthermore, it’s more common for women to be better at multi-tasking than men.
These are fantastic attributes, however, they also mean that women’s brains are operating at a faster pace for longer. As a result, they may feel too wired at the end of the night to be able to unwind and sleep.
Less Sleep Equals Weight Gain For Women
Typically, men can lose more weight than women. One of the factors that make it harder for women to lose weight is the fact that they may not be getting enough sleep. Being sleep deprived puts women at a higher risk of gaining excessive weight.
There have been associations found between overweight women and insomnia. A major reason for this is because a lack of sleep causes cortisol to be released. Cortisol is a stress hormone that can increase your appetite which causes weight gain.
In addition to this, being deprived of sleep can cause your willpower to be reduced which can lead to women making poor food choices that are based on convenience regularly.
Conclusion
The pressures that society puts on women when it comes to working and looking after children are harmful to women both physically (weight gain) and mentally due to not having enough time to themselves.
There are hormonal reasons as to why women need to sleep more than men. But many aspects cause them to be more tired that could be avoided. Being in a healthy sleep/wake cycle is necessary for both men and women to function properly and be healthy.
Hopefully, our post has outlined some of the main reasons why women need more sleep than men and why it’s worth being more considerate of women in regards to helping out more often to improve the quality of their sleep and overall life.
