Health Q&A: do women need more sleep than men?

From female fatigue to late-night snacking, Luisa Dillner has all the answers

There is no research evidence that shows women need more sleep than men. You would be forgiven for thinking otherwise, with headlines such as Metro’s “Women actually need more sleep than men so let’s all go back to bed”. At Loughborough University’s sleep research centre, the reputed source of this revelation, they don’t know where this myth comes from. Its director, Kevin Morgan, even has a problem with what “more sleep” actually means.

Surveys show women report having less, and poorer quality, sleep than men. Morgan says women take longer to get to sleep and wake up for longer in the night. He thinks a combination of hormonal and societal factors influence women’s sleep. Progesterone and oestrogen influence mood, which can affect the quality of sleep. Then there is pregnancy, getting up for children and the menopause (causing shorter, lighter and more fragmented slumber).

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from Health & wellbeing | The Guardian http://ift.tt/1SALNo8
via health