Why Are 75% of Women Sleep Deprived?

A recent study by the Minnesota Sleep Institute found that nearly three out of every four women are sleep deprived. This is a drastic increase over men of which only about one on four suffer from the condition. Now, why is it that women are suffering at a greater rate than men? Here, the SleepBook team investigates…

Sleep deprivation is a serious problem. The average woman should be getting eight hours of continuous sleep every night. Women who are not getting enough sleep are at risk of developing obesity. Women who are sleep deprived tend to over indulge on fatty, high-caloric foods in order to recoup their energy, plus being sleep deprived can cause an imbalance in appetite-curbing hormones. Sleep deprivation also diminishes mental acuity, can hinder work performance and weakens the immune system.

One of the leading causes of sleep deprivation in women is the stress that comes with raising a family, especially for single mothers. In addition to the early morning pressure of getting their youngsters ready for school, single mothers can be awakened by babies that need feeding or extra attention during the night. Being a mother also creates for restless nights spent lying in bed ruminating over the day’s activities while milling over the countless tasks on the next day’s to-do list.

Due to their menstrual cycles, women are constantly going through hormonal sways throughout the month. Early in their cycles, low progesterone levels interfere with their ability to attain quality, restorative sleep. Later in the month, elevated progesterone levels can make a woman feel sleepy and sleep deprived even if they’ve slept for a full eight hours the night before. For post-menopausal women, hot flashes can cause women to wake up more frequently in the night.

If you are a woman experiencing sleep deprivation, understand that although sometimes it feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day, by getting the correct amount of sleep you can maximize the time you do have. It’s hard to be supermom when you’re not getting enough sleep, try and put yourself on a solid sleep schedule. This will help put your body into a rhythm and you’ll fall asleep faster and reach the deeper nourishing levels of sleep easier.