Sex Differences and Sleep

"A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval."– Mark Twain

Right on Mark Twain.  Of course, the individual has to understand and be cognizant of who he is for that quote to work.  Know you, keep in harmony, and live the good life.

A survey conducted with 1506 people, by the National Sleep Foundation found the following: 1. Men say they need about 6.2 hours of sleep to function at their best, vs. women who say they need 6.8 hours; 2.  Men are more likely to have sleep apnea, vs. women more often have insomnia;3.  Men tend to be night owls vs. women are more often morning people; 4.  In a sleep lab, men took 23.2 minutes on average to fall asleep, vs. women took 9.3 minutes; 5.  Women tend to get more deep sleep and wake up fewer times during the night than men; 6.  Women overall say they are less satisfied with their sleep than men; 7.  Women living with snorers are three times as likely to have insomnia symptoms as those whose partners do not snore; and 7.  Women’s reaction time, deteriorated less than men’s after five nights of not enough sleep.  After two nights of full sleep, women bounced back more than men. Score one for women,

We all know that getting enough sleep is an important factor in maintaining our health.  This survey points out the gender differences in sleep suggesting another difference between the sexes.  Some researchers believe that differences in sleep patterns could help explain why women live longer than men.  For example, sleep difficulties have been linked in many studies with chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease and diabetes.  Further, people sleeping with a partner claimed they are more satisfied with their sleep or when they are with a loved one. Score two for the women

As far as college students, sleep did help reinforce learning for both sexes.  However, when it comes to perceptual learning, men need a map where the women do not according to another study. Research studies suggest that men do better with a nap as far as learning goes. For women, life changes, including pregnancy and menopause can create problems with sleep. This article is found in the August 23, 2011, Wall Street Journal. Score another one for the women. Women win the battle over sleep.

Hopefully, we can begin to appreciate and understand the differences between the sexes.  I know for me, I enjoy taking an afternoon nap when I can.  I do not have a problem falling or waking up after my siesta.  Europeans had it correct when they took their siestas during the heat of the day.  So women are from Venus and men are from Mars, which is part of the story.  Appreciate your differences and know yourself.

After Linda, Nails, Digger, and I returned from our trail run and ride, I ordered books from my publisher, and expect to have them shipped next week.  So, you can purchase books from Barnes & Noble, Amazon or me. It is going to take a few weeks before the e-books are available for purchase.  Another phase or more significantly another new phase begins.