Women Struggle More Than Men To Get Enough Sleep

We need better sleep. We all know this, and yet the perfect 8-hour stretch eludes us. Like Hobbits on their way to Mordor with a gold ring. We’re the craggy angry orcs in this metaphor?because we’re not getting enough good quality shut-eye.

Blame it on the changing of the seasons – do we have seasons anymore? – or the prevalence of screens. Call out addictive true crime documentaries and post-work snacking. Or maybe blame your gender.

A new report says that women struggle to get enough sleep more than men. A US study analysed the sleep date of 44,000 adults between 2013 and 2014 and ?found that women had poorer quality sleep across the board, regardless of whether they had children.” Bleak times. Today.com reports that the study’s co-author Colleen Nugent, Ph.D said that women in general claimed to have ‘more trouble falling asleep, staying asleep and waking up feeling unrested.”

in rather despondent and not at all surprising news, the study found that single moms were the segment who struggled the most. Nearly a quarter of single mothers “reported having trouble falling asleep four or more times in the previous week.”?43% of single parents overall said they were getting the recommended seven hours every night. Over 50% of single mothers said they wake up unrested, with 47% of women with partners reporting similar. Women without children came in at 39% in this case, while one-fifth of that same group reported chronic insomnia.

All those statistics are too high if you ask us and it looks like women are facing into a major overworked and anxiety induced crisis. Ask any gal pal how she is and the words ‘tired’, ‘wrecked’ and ‘worked to the bone’ will come tumbling out. We need to embrace the fact sleep is the best source of strength, and that seeking repose is not a sign of weakness.

Arianna Huffington isn’t just a successful media mogul and businesswoman. She’s also one of the leading female voices imploring us to sleep more. She feels so strong on the issue, that she’s dedicated a TED Talk to it and her book Thrive is all about the self-care. We need to take her words on board, and find a way to sleep better. Here are some starting tips.

Via Today.com