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 injectable therapy is showing positive results in reducing melanoma throughout a five-year period.
The personalized mRNA cancer therapy, called intismeran autogene, combined with the cancer immunotherapy drug KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), is a collaboration between Merck and Moderna.
The results from the phase 2b KEYNOTE-942 study were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago on May 27.
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After about a five-year follow-up, the combo drug was found to reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 49% compared to pembrolizumab alone.
The researchers analyzed data from 157 patients with high-risk stage 3 and 4 melanoma whose cancer had been removed via surgery. The participants were split into two groups — one received the combo therapy and the other only received pembrolizumab, according to a press release.
The therapy was found to reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 49% compared to pembrolizumab alone after a five-year follow-up. (iStock)
The findings revealed that the combination group saw benefits that were “sustained and durable over time.”
Intismeran autogene is designed using mutations identified in a patient’s own tumor, with the intention of teaching the immune system what the cancer looks like so that it can recognize and attack it.
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According to the researchers, intismeran is “well-tolerated” with a “manageable” safety profile.
The most commonly cited side effects of the personalized mRNA vaccine plus KEYTRUDA were fatigue, injection-site pain, chills, fever and headache. The researchers reported no new long-term safety concerns and no severe vaccine-related adverse events.
The combination therapy is currently being evaluated in a phase 3 study — the final confirmation stage.
Patients with late-stage melanoma have a “significant risk” of cancer recurrence, according to an expert. (iStock)
In a Merck press release from January, Kyle Holen, MD, Moderna’s senior vice president and head of development, oncology and therapeutics, noted that this data highlights the “potential of a prolonged benefit … in patients with resected high-risk melanoma.”
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“We continue to invest in our platform in oncology because of encouraging outcomes like these, which illustrate mRNA’s potential in cancer care,” he said.
Dr. Marjorie Green, senior vice president and head of oncology, global clinical development at Merck Research Laboratories, also commented that for many patients with stage 3 or 4 melanoma, there is a “significant risk of recurrence following surgery.”
Researchers confirmed that the combination therapy is currently being evaluated in a phase 3 study. (iStock)
“As such, demonstrating the longer-term potential of intismeran autogene and KEYTRUDA to reduce the risk of recurrence for certain patients with melanoma is a meaningful milestone,” she said.
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The company cited encouraging five-year follow-up data and pointed to upcoming late-stage INTerpath trial results with Moderna in several hard-to-treat cancers.
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An accidental lab discovery has opened the door to entirely new ways of preventing the flu.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells, SWNS reported.
By targeting the specific molecules the viruses rely on, scientists found that they could block them from entering new cells and halt their replication altogether.
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Researchers say these “fundamental insights” into seasonal influenza highlight a clear path toward developing better preventive medications.
“The hope is that fundamental, curiosity-based research like this helps to pave the way for novel strategies to treat and prevent influenza infections,” principal investigator Dr. Emily Bruce, from the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, said in the SWNS report.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells. (iStock)
While several flu strains cause illness, H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses are the most common. However, current flu tests cannot differentiate between them, and clinical treatments are identical for both.
Although vaccines and antivirals are available, Bruce noted a “dire” need for better medications to stop the virus from spreading cell to xxcell.
“You don’t get sick when a virus is in one cell,” he noted. “You get sick because a virus replicates itself and goes into many more cells.”
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The study, which was published in The Journal of Virology, originally aimed to map how viral RNA segments are transported within cells to create new viral particles.
The team used H1N1 and H3N2 viruses isolated from the nasal passages of positive patients in 2022.
Clinical treatments remain identical for both primary strains of the flu virus. (iStock)
During the investigation, the team unexpectedly stumbled upon a cellular pathway that blocked the virus from entering lung cells, SWNS reported.
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The data revealed that when a specific human protein called Rab11B was depleted, H3N2 viruses failed to enter human lung cells. H1N1 viruses were completely unaffected.
Using reverse genetics, the team mapped this defect and uncovered a brand-new, H3N2-specific role for Rab11B during viral entry.
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This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way.
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“Viruses are like pirates from different countries hijacking someone’s ship,” Bruce said. “Different viruses, like different types of pirates, use different methods to get onboard.”
This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way. (iStock)
“We had previously thought that all flu viruses used the same way to get into a cell, but we discovered that this is not true,” she went on. “H1N1 and H3N2 need different proteins to get in, and if you get rid of the right protein, a specific virus can’t get in.”
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While these findings identify a critical cellular pathway for viral entry, the study was conducted using isolated cells, the researchers acknowledged.
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Further research is needed to determine whether blocking the protein is safe and effective within a live, complex human respiratory system.
Bruce and the team hope to conduct further research to determine whether this Rab11B-dependency is a fundamental property of H3N2, or if it’s a trait unique to currently circulating flu strains.
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Eating processed meat like ham, sausage and bacon may be linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer, according to new research.
While health organizations have already confirmed that processed meat can contribute to colon cancer, this study looked closer at cancers in the upper digestive tract, where the link has historically been less clear.
To understand these connections, researchers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), one of the world’s largest long-term nutrition and cancer cohorts, tracked the health and diets of 450,112 people across Europe for an average of 14 years.
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The study group included 131,426 men and 318,686 women, according to the study’s press release.
During the follow-up period, 876 people developed stomach cancer and 215 people developed esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is cancer of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach.
For female participants, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk of developing the disease. (iStock)
Researchers tracked where the stomach cancers grew, separating them into the upper part of the stomach near the throat and the lower part of the stomach.
The researchers also sorted the tumors into two categories based on how the cancer cells appeared under a microscope: intestinal, which forms more organized structures, and diffuse, in which the cells are more scattered throughout the tissue.
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After adjusting for other lifestyle factors, the researchers found that for every extra 30 grams of processed meat a person ate per day, their overall risk of stomach cancer went up by 9%. Eating that same extra 30 grams a day was also linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
A standard single slice of regular deli-sliced ham or lunch meat averages around 28 grams, according to USDA data and nutritional tracking databases.
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken and turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach. (iStock)
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken or turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach, the researchers noted.
The study also revealed differences between men and women. For male participants, only processed meat showed a clear, statistically significant link to a higher risk of stomach cancer. For female participants, however, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk.
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These findings align with global health benchmarks, particularly those established by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The agency has long classified processed meat as a known human carcinogen, primarily due to its strong, well-documented links to colorectal cancer.
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However, health organizations have also consistently pointed to a potential, yet less definitive, relationship between these meats and cancers of the stomach.
Eating 30 grams of processed meat a day, or the equivalent to one slice of ham, was linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. (iStock)
Further scientific investigation is needed to confirm the findings and to account for other underlying risk factors, such as certain stomach infections, which could interact with dietary habits.
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A key limitation of the study is its reliance on self-reported diets, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies in how participants recall their meat consumption over time, the researchers noted.
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The findings were published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers requesting comment.
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