Why women need more
sleep than men
Women
need more sleep than men during the night due to the complexity of their brain.
Studies have shown that women generally need an extra 20 minutes sleep every
night so their brain can do all the extra processing that a women’s brain needs
to do.
Although
20 minutes may not seem like a lot of extra sleep it impacts the brain in a
very positive way. A women’s brain is structured in a way that they are able to
juggle a few tasks at a time where as the male brain can struggle with this,
however we are not saying that all men cannot multi task or that all women can,
this is just the findings of a study on the average brain.
One
of the most important reasons we all need sleep is to repair the brain and give
it time to recover and sort through all the thoughts, memories and issues from
the day just gone. This is why women tend to need more sleep because
multi-tasking tends to use more of the brain, which in turn requires the brain
longer time to repair. A man who does a lot of decision making and thinking at
work through the day may also need to sleep longer than the average man.
If
you happen to be a poor sleeper and a woman than you may find that you struggle
with your emotions and experience greater psychological distress such as hostility,
depression, and anger which can cause you restlessness but these same findings
were not found in men who slept poorly.
Usually
we need around 6 to 8 ours sleep a night for the brain to complete its
restoration process however you, as an individual, may find you need a little
more to keep you feeling fresh and relaxed. Regardless of whether you are male
or female if you are having trouble sleeping you can try setting yourself a
routine just as we would for a young child so that the body and mind know that
it is sleep time now and start to help you wind down from the day. Also,
meditation and yoga can be helpful for relaxation and helping give your body
that nudge it needs to fall asleep quicker. Try some aromatherapy oils, some
natural sleep supplements in the short term only or simply a cup of chamomile
tea may do the trick.
So,
if you are finding that you are not getting enough sleep it could be simply
because your brain has not had enough time to restore itself. When you are
having troubles getting to sleep try the above-mentioned relaxation strategies
and see if they help or you could talk to your health care practitioner who
could recommend a natural melatonin tablet to help get your sleep pattern back
on track.