It’s been an argument that’s been circulating for years, but now it’s finally been decided women need more sleep than men.
If you’ve ever wondered why women need more sleep than men, then the reason is right here and it’s actually much more scientific than you might think.
Professor Jim Horne, a sleep neuroscientist and former Director of Loughborough University’s Sleep Research Centre, has said women experience ‘distress’ if they don’t get enough sleep.
Interestingly, he doesn’t believe this is the case for men, meaning men can get by on less sleep and are happier to do so.
He said the psychological feelings of distress women may experience when faced with a lack of sleep ‘were not associated with the same degree of sleep disruption.’
Intriguingly, the Professor believes this is because females ‘multi task,’ controversially meaning their brains are used more and that in return they need more time for it to recover.
He told the Daily Mail:
The more of your brain you use during the day, the more of it that needs to recover and, consequently, the more sleep you need.
Women tend to multi-task — they do lots at once and are flexible — and so they use more of their actual brain than men do. Because of that, their sleep need is greater.
The study to obtain his findings was carried out on 210 middle-aged men and women, although he did say the men who have jobs involving ‘decision-making and lateral thinking,’ may also require more sleep too.
According to the scientist, on average women need an extra twenty minute lie-in compared to their male counterparts.
Interesting findings.
