Women Who Struggle To Get A Good Night's Sleep Usually Deal With 3 Things Men Don't
retoncy | Shutterstock All too often, getting a good night’s sleep feels elusive. Even if you’re tired and go to bed at a reasonable hour, you're not guaranteed to fall asleep easily or stay asleep all night. And our sleep affects our life in major ways: Getting less sleep can lead to increased anxiety and depression and the all-around feeling of brain fog.
While sleep research abounds, there’s less information available on how women sleep compared to men. Part of this is due to historical factors: Women’s health has long been excluded from major scientific studies, and the National Institutes of Health didn’t require studies to account for biological sex as a variable until 2016. Yet more scientists are finally looking into why men and women sleep so differently.
Women who struggle to sleep usually deal with a few things that men don't:
1. They're more likely to have insomnia
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As far as sleep disorders go, men and women are faced with different health struggles. Men are more likely to have obstructive sleep apnea, a condition in which the upper airway gets blocked during sleep. Even so, men still seem to sleep better than women. Women are 1.5 times more likely to experience insomnia than men.
Acute insomnia is defined as periods when it’s hard to fall asleep, stay asleep, or get high-quality sleep. Chronic insomnia happens when those sleep disruptions occur at least three times a week for over three months.
In addition to having a higher occurrence of insomnia, women also have a 25 to 50% increased likelihood of having restless legs syndrome, which can make it hard to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Women also report more fluctuations in sleep quality. Thirty-three percent of women report waking up throughout the night, while only 27% of men do.
Women have more interrupted sleep patterns than men. They sleep about 8 minutes longer in non-REM sleep, when brain activity slows, yet they also report waking up more often throughout the night.
Almost one-third of women say they rarely or never wake up feeling well-rested, while only 17% of men report the same. In many ways, sleep is that magic bullet that stabilizes moods and lowers anxiety, so when we don't get enough of it, our well-being suffers.
2. Their hormones affect how they sleep
Women’s hormonal changes are closely linked to sleep quality, especially as they age. Almost 25% of women between the ages of 18 and 24 lose sleep due to symptoms of PMS. The last phase of menstruation, known as the luteal phase, leads to lower-quality sleep, in part because women’s core body temperature rises during this time.
Fifty-three percent of women between the ages of 45 and 54 lose sleep because of perimenopause or menopause. After 54, 21% lose sleep due to menopause, which creates dropped estrogen levels. Hormonal changes during pregnancy also interrupt sleep.
Historically, there hasn’t been much in-depth research on menopause or its connection to sleep, yet increased conversation around this crucial life change is prompting more scientists to study its physiological aftermath.
3. They get woken up more by their kids
More often than not, women with children are the primary parents. According to a 2024 Sleep Foundation survey, caregiving costs women their rest. Twelve percent of women reported waking up in the middle of the night to care for others, twice as high as men.
Over half of women ages 25 to 44 with kids get less than the recommended 7 hours of sleep a night. Only 38% of men with kids reported getting less than 7 hours of sleep.
In addition, women with kids reported that high levels of stress and anxiety often keep them from falling asleep at night, as they lie awake in the dark, worrying. Moms are 9% more likely than men to lose sleep because of caregiving worries and 13% more likely to lose sleep because of household responsibilities.
Practicing good sleep hygiene is one way to improve sleep quality. Having a consistent bedtime and letting yourself decompress for at least an hour before bed without screens is crucial for adjusting your circadian rhythms, which regulate sleep.
Keeping your room cool can also help regulate your core body temperature, especially when hormones are involved. More scientific studies now focus on how women sleep than in the past, which hopefully will shed light on how we can consistently get a good night’s rest so we can wake up and take on the world.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers social issues, pop culture, and all things related to the entertainment industry.
