Women DO sleep worse than men… and scientists say it’s because their body clocks run six minutes quicker

Women actually sleep worse than men, study shows.

And scientists estimate it’s because your biological clock runs about six minutes faster.

This means they are out of sync with their environment, which wreaks havoc on their internal wiring that tells their brain when to get sleepy.

An all-female team of experts based at Harvard, Stanford and Southampton universities reviewed dozens of academic articles published in the last decade on the misunderstood “sleep gap” that exists between men and women.

Many wore actigraphs, digital wrist-worn devices similar to Apple watches or Fitbits, which monitor heart rate and sleep patterns.

The results showed that women were almost 60 percent more likely to experience insomnia.

They rate their sleep quality worse than men and complain of having more bad nights.

The men, meanwhile, They get less restful and deeper sleep than women and are more likely to be night owls. Additionally, they were more likely to suffer from sleep apnea.

Further experiments also revealed that there were differences between the sexes in terms of the speed of the body’s built-in clock, or circadian rhythm, that sets the pace of our lives.

When it comes to sleep, the body reacts to environmental cues to lower our core temperature in the hours before sleep a bit to prepare our body for sleep.

Internally, the body also secretes more melatonin, a hormone that helps us fall asleep.

The research in the new analysis found that melatonin is secreted earlier in women than in men.

Core body temperature apparently followed the same pattern, peaking earlier among women.

The researchers said their findings, published in the journal Sleep Medicine Reviews, illustrate the “crucial role that sex plays” in sleep and health.

Study author Dr. Renske Lok, a Stanford-based psychiatry expert, said, “Although this difference (of six minutes) may be small, it is significant.”

«The misalignment between the central biological clock and the sleep/wake cycle is approximately five times greater in women than in men.

‘Imagine if someone’s watch constantly ran six minutes faster or slower.

“Over days, weeks, and months, this difference can cause a noticeable misalignment between the internal clock and external cues, such as light and dark.”

Dr. Lok added: “Disruptions in circadian rhythms have been linked to a variety of health problems, including sleep disorders, mood disorders, and impaired cognitive function.

“Even minor differences in circadian periods can have important implications for overall health and well-being.”

Co-author Dr Sarah Chellappa, a neuroscientist at Southampton, added: “Lower sleep quality is associated with anxiety and depressive disorders, which are twice as common in women as men.

“Women are also more likely than men to be diagnosed with insomnia, although the reasons are not entirely clear.”

One study evaluated showed that women were up to four times more likely to develop a sleep-related eating disorder, in which people eat repeatedly throughout the night.

Another found they were 25 to 50 percent more likely to suffer from restless legs syndrome.

Linked to iron deficiency, the condition It creates a creepy feeling in the legs and an irresistible urge to move them, which can keep sufferers awake at night.

Women tended to sleep more than men, spending about eight minutes more in non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep.

About 80 percent of adult sleep is non-REM sleep, although only 20 percent of this is deep sleep; The other type is known as rapid eye movement sleep and is when vivid dreams occur.

During the deepest stage of deep sleep, brain waves are much slower and this is when growth hormone is released. The body uses it to repair and regenerate tissues, build bones and muscles, and strengthen the immune system.

While time spent in non-REM phase decreases with age, the researchers noted, this decrease is more substantial in older men.

Men also tended to overeat more than women in response to sleep loss, the researchers said.

Writing in the diary, Sleep Medication ReviewsThe researchers said understanding sex differences during sleep was “essential to tailoring sleep medicine approaches” to combat sleep disorders.

However, many of the studies failed to evaluate how biological differences, such as during the menstrual cycle and menopause, affected sleep patterns, they noted.

Previous research has suggested a link between lack of sleep and an increased risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

The most common causes of insomnia are thought to be anxiety, depression, alcohol, caffeine, recreational drugs, and shift work.

While adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep, children are recommended between nine and 13, the NHS recommends.

The health service estimates that it takes most people an average of 14 minutes to fall asleep.

Studies suggest that at least 30 per cent of the problems faced by GPs are directly or indirectly related to sleep.

However, only one in ten Britons talk to their doctor about insomnia, despite 30 per cent taking medication to try to treat it.