Women, And Our Sleep: The Newest Research Findings On What is Costing Us Sleep
A recent study from the Sleep Foundation Organization shares some prolific views on the gender gap of sleep between men and women. Almost have of women (49%) get less than the recommended 7 hours of sleep, per night. Let’s dive into why.
Caregiving is costing women sleep.
In a household with children, caregiver costs women sleep: 55% of women get less than 7 hours of sleep whereas 38% of men are getting less than 7 hours of sleep. In extension, men are getting 30 minutes more sleep per night. This may sound insignificant on the surface, but research has found that even getting an additional 30 minutes of sleep reduces fatigue, tension, and improves performance and cognitive function.
Hormonal changes are costing women sleep.
Hormone shifts and cycles are also not doing us any favors. In the period of our lives when premenstrual syndrome (PMS) begins, 23% of young women report they are getting less than sleep during their cycle. And, conversely, as women are entering the journey of menopause, more than half (53%) of women losing sleep due to hot flashes and sleep disturbances due to major drops in hormone levels.
Stress and anxiety is costing women sleep.
Interestingly, over half (51%) of women report losing sleep due to anxiety and depression. Different age brackets suggest mental health is the highest contribution to anxiety for younger women, whereas financial stability is the highest for older women. As Dr. Audrey Wells explains, “Invisible burdens can weigh on a woman’s mind and interrupt sleep because they generate emotions that are incompatible with sleep. So they have difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep at night. This is not true for men in my experience, and it’s not really talked about in sleep medicine.”.
"Women often feel heavily burdened by social expectations and the responsibilities placed on them." --- Dr. Audrey Wells, Sleep Medicine Physician, CPAP Expert, MD
So Now What?
The below are the top suggestions and recommendations for what you can do to reclaim and protect your sleep:
Increase household and caregiving equity into your home lifestyle. Bring nightly routines and consistency into bedtime regimes that has you in bed long enough to fall asleep and get 7+ hours of sleep, per night. This could mean you exploring new ways to delegate out bedtime moments with the kids, enforcing earlier bedtimes for the family, or saying no to activities past a specific time in the evenings that gives you the space to get the day wrapped up earlier.
Reduce stress to increase sleep quality. Bringing exercise and movement into your lifestyle can support sleep quality. Also, doing self-exploration and discovery to pinpoint the root causes of stress and focusing on detoxing from these stressors will positively affect sleep quality.
Managing symptoms of hormonal changes. Bring tools into your sleep lifestyle, like aromatherapy supplements, cooling mattresses, cooling sheets, and more can shift sleep interruptions. Also, sleeping in separate beds can also help with overheating or getting interrupted by disturbances.
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