London - It seems the stresses and strains of the day do not end with going to bed – if you’re female, that is.
A study has revealed that while women spend longer periods under the covers than men, they get less sleep.
Researchers suggest the problems of juggling work and family life may be why they are left tossing and turning.
A Cambridge University study of almost 8 500 Britons showed the average person gets up to eight hours and 41 minutes after they turn in. However, just six hours and 53 minutes are actually taken up by sleeping.
The average woman spends eight hours 47 minutes in bed – 15 minutes more than the typical male. But researcher Yue Leng said the women who took part in the study reported more broken sleep than the men.
Their average sleep lasts six hours and 48 minutes – 11 minutes less than the man of the house.
Leng, a PhD student, said the stresses and strains of managing the work-and-life balance may leave women unable to sleep peacefully.
Their extra 15 minutes in bed also isn’t necessarily spent trying to sleep. For instance, it may be that women are more likely to curl up in bed with a good book.
The study, published in the journal Sleep Medicine, also showed that single and married people sleep better than those who are widowed, separated or divorced.
“It may be that they experience more worries that lead to sleepless nights,” said Leng.
“Also, sleeping alone in a double bed might exaggerate the feeling of loss and lead to disturbed sleep.”
Dr Neil Stanley, a sleep expert, said women could be more willing than men to sacrifice sleep for their partners.
“There’s the idea that the man is the breadwinner, he’s the one who fought woolly mammoths and all that sort of thing, and therefore his sleep needs to be preserved and a woman will forgo sleep for him.
“A woman will let a man snore away noisily, whereas a man will instantly wake a woman if she dares to make any noise.”
Previous research has shown that people who get less than six hours of sleep each night are more at risk of dying prematurely. – Daily Mail