Health
Do women need more sleep than men? Here’s what experts think
Sleep is important for everyone – but do women require more than men?
This has been an ongoing discussion among researchers and medical experts, as they weigh the various biological factors that come into play.
Sleep expert Dr. Wendy Troxel, RAND Corporation senior behavioral specialist and a licensed clinical psychologist in Utah, said the idea that women need significantly more sleep than men is “often overstated.”
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Research has shown that the difference between men and women is “rather minimal,” as women only need about 11 to 13 more minutes of sleep, Troxel told Fox News Digital.
In addition to insomnia, women are more likely to experience other sleep disorders, like restless leg syndrome, which can compromise sleep quality. (iStock)
“This exaggeration can pressure women to focus on hitting a specific number of sleep hours, potentially at the expense of sleep quality,” she said.
“This is problematic, as women are already at twice the risk of having insomnia compared to men.”
Sleep medicine physician Dr. William Lu, medical director at Dreem Health in San Francisco, said women do tend to sleep more than men — about 10 to 20 more minutes per night, studies show.
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“However, we don’t know for certain if it is because women need more sleep or because men don’t sleep enough,” he told Fox News Digital.
“If the reason is that women need more sleep, hormones are very likely to play an important factor.”
‘Ultimate self-care’
Troxel said she considers sleep to be the “ultimate self-care for women, yet it’s often the first thing sacrificed amid life’s many demands.”
As women face about twice the risk of depression as men, it is especially important for them to maintain healthy sleep schedules to support their mental health and well-being, she noted.
It may be difficult for pregnant women to find a comfortable sleeping position, which can impact sleep quality, an expert said. (iStock)
“More broadly, quality sleep can support brain health, relationship health and overall physical health, including reducing the risk of heart disease,” the expert said.
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Proper sleep can also help women better manage stress, maintain a healthy weight and boost immune strength.
How much sleep is enough?
Sleep duration is “very dependent on the individual,” according to Lu.
“Get enough sleep that you feel rested and refreshed,” he advised. “Too many people focus on the specific amount of sleep needed and not about how they feel after waking up.”
“As a general rule of thumb, women can aim to get around 7.5 hours of sleep per night.”
Studies show that women tend to sleep up to 20 minutes more than men per day. (iStock)
Dr. Navya Mysore, medical director for the online health care platform Nurx, suggested that both men and women need about seven to nine hours of sleep per night.
“Too many people focus on the specific amount of sleep needed and not about how they feel after waking up.”
“It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how much more sleep a woman may need compared to men, as there are so many factors that can influence the quality of sleep — like stress levels, sleep hygiene habits, exercise, diet and alcohol,” New York-based Mysore told Fox News Digital.
“If you have a better quality of sleep, you may need closer to seven hours per night versus a person with a poorer quality of sleep, who needs closer to nine hours,” she added.
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Troxel agreed that instead of just focusing on sleep duration, men and women should be encouraged to “optimize all aspects of sleep health.”
This includes duration, quality and consistent sleep-wake patterns throughout the week, she said.
Sleep challenges affecting women
Women face more frequent hormonal changes, which Troxel said can lead to fragmented sleep and a higher risk of insomnia, especially during menstrual cycles, pregnancy and menopause.
“Around 60% of women experience sleep disturbances during the menopausal transition, yet these symptoms often go untreated, which can have a significant negative impact on quality of life,” she said.
Lu added that in the weeks leading up to a woman’s period, she may feel increasingly tired and require more sleep.
A person with better sleep quality will require fewer hours of sleep per night, an expert noted. (iStock)
In the second half of the menstrual cycle (or the luteal phase), progesterone levels rise, which can make women feel sleepier and may lead to poorer quality of sleep, according to Mysore.
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Pregnancy can also cause sleep difficulties.
“Many [pregnant] women have a hard time falling or staying asleep, which can lead to them feeling more tired during the day,” Lu said.
“Effective non-drug treatments for insomnia are available, and it’s crucial to ensure these options are accessible to all women,” a sleep expert said. (iStock)
“There are also increased risks of obstructive sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome during pregnancy, which can factor into sleep quality.”
Symptoms of menopause, like hot flashes, can also cause sleep disruptions.
“Around 60% of women experience sleep disturbances during the menopausal transition, yet these symptoms often go untreated.”
Both experts added that women fulfilling traditional caregiving roles and societal expectations while working can also contribute to sleep disruptions and added stress.
Those experiencing consistent sleep challenges should see a medical provider for recommendations.
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A new report by the American Heart Association (AHA) included some troubling predictions for the future of women’s health.
The forecast, published in the journal Circulation on Wednesday, projected increases in various comorbidities in American females by 2050.
More than 59% of women were predicted to have high blood pressure, up from less than 49% currently.
The review also projected that more than 25% of women will have diabetes, compared to about 15% today, and more than 61% will have obesity, compared to 44% currently.
As a result of these risk factors, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7%.
The prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke in women is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7% by 2050. (iStock)
Not all trends were negative, as unhealthy cholesterol prevalence is expected to drop to about 22% from more than 42% today, the report stated.
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Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, a cardiologist and founder of Step One Foods in Minnesota, commented on these “jarring findings.”
“The fact that on our current trajectory, cardiometabolic disease is projected to explode in women within one generation should be a huge wake-up call,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“Hypertension, diabetes, obesity — these are all major risk factors for heart disease, and we are already seeing what those risks are driving. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, eclipsing all other causes of death, including breast cancer.”
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. and around the world. (iStock)
Klodas warned that heart disease starts early, progresses “stealthily,” and can present “out of the blue in devastating ways.”
The AHA published another study on Thursday revealing one million hospitalizations, showing that heart attack deaths are climbing among adults below the age of 55.
The more alarming finding, according to Klodas, is that young women were found more likely to die after their first heart attack than men of the same age.
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“This is all especially tragic since heart disease is almost entirely preventable,” she said. “The earlier you start, the better.”
Children can show early evidence of plaque deposition in their arteries, which can be reversed through lifestyle changes if “undertaken early enough and aggressively enough,” according to the expert.
Moving more is one part of protecting a healthy heart, according to experts. (iStock)
Klodas suggested that rising heart conditions are associated with traditional risk factors, like smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.
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Doctors are also seeing higher rates of preeclampsia, or high blood pressure during pregnancy, as well as gestational diabetes. Klodas noted that these are sex-specific risk factors that don’t typically contribute to complications until after menopause.
The best way to protect a healthy heart is to “do the basics,” Klodas recommended, including the following lifestyle habits.
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Klodas especially emphasized making improvements to diet, as the food people eat affects “every single risk factor that the AHA’s report highlights.”
“High blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, excess weight – these are all conditions that are driven in part or in whole by food,” she said. “We eat multiple times every single day, which means what we eat has profound cumulative effects over time.”
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health,” a doctor said. (iStock)
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health.”
The doctor also recommends changing out a few snacks per day for healthier choices, which has been proven to “yield medication-level cholesterol reductions” in a month.
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“Keep up that small change and, over the course of a year, you could also lose 20 pounds and reduce your sodium intake enough to avoid blood pressure-lowering medications,” Klodas added.
“Women should not view the AHA report as inevitable. We have power over our health destinies. We just need to use it.”
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Nearsightedness (myopia) is skyrocketing globally, with nearly half of the world’s population expected to be myopic by 2050, according to the World Health Organization.
Heavy use of smartphones and other devices is associated with an 80% higher risk of myopia when combined with excessive computer use, but a new study suggests that dim indoor lighting could also be a factor.
For years, scientists have been puzzled by the different ways myopia is triggered. In lab settings, it can be induced by blurring vision or using different lenses. Conversely, it can be slowed by something as simple as spending time outdoors, research suggests.
Nearsightedness occurs when the eyeball grows too long from front to back, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA). This physical elongation causes light to focus in front of the retina rather than directly on it, making distant objects appear blurry.
The study suggests that myopia isn’t caused by the digital devices themselves, but by the low-light environments where they are typically used. (iStock)
Researchers at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry identified a potential specific trigger for this growth. When someone looks at a phone or a book up close, the pupil naturally constricts.
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“In bright outdoor light, the pupil constricts to protect the eye while still allowing ample light to reach the retina,” Urusha Maharjan, a SUNY Optometry doctoral student who conducted the study, said in a press release.
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“When people focus on close objects indoors, such as phones, tablets or books, the pupil can also constrict — not because of brightness, but to sharpen the image,” she went on. “In dim lighting, this combination may significantly reduce retinal illumination.”
High-intensity natural light prevents myopia because it provides enough retinal stimulation to override the “stop growing” signal, even when pupils are constricted. (iStock)
The hypothesis suggests that when the retina is deprived of light during extended close-up work, it sends a signal for the eye to grow.
In a dim environment, the narrowed pupil allows so little light through that the retinal activity isn’t strong enough to signal the eye to stop growing, the researchers found.
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In contrast, being outdoors provides light levels much brighter than indoors. This ensures that even when the pupil narrows to focus on a nearby object, the retina still receives a strong signal, maintaining healthy eye development.
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The team noted some limitations of the study, including the small subject group and the inability to directly measure internal lens changes, as the bright backgrounds used to mimic the outdoors made pupils too small for standard equipment.
Researchers believe that increasing indoor brightness during close-up work could be a simple, testable way to slow the global nearsightedness epidemic. (iStock)
“This is not a final answer,” Jose-Manuel Alonso, MD, PhD, SUNY distinguished professor and senior author of the study, said in the release.
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“But the study offers a testable hypothesis that reframes how visual habits, lighting and eye focusing interact.”
The study was published in the journal Cell Reports.
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