Women need more sleep than men, recent studies show. According to Dr. Jim Horne, Britain’s leading expert in sleep science, women need to sleep twenty minutes more than men.
Scientists have now proven that because they can multi-task, women use their brain more than men. Generally, the more you use your brain during the day the more you need to sleep. Researchers are conducting more and more studies on sleep and the more we find out about this activity, or non-activity, the more we realize how little we know about it.
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We know that we all need sleep in order to be able to function the next day, but studies show there’s a lot more to it. We do spend a considerable amount of time sleeping so it makes sense we want to find out more about this fascinating topic. There is no doubt that sleep is essential for the human mind and body.
One of the major functions of sleep is to allow the brain to recover and repair itself. During deep sleep, the cortex — the part of the brain responsible for thought memory, language and so on – disengages from the senses and goes into recovery mode. Jim Horne, the director of the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University.
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The idea that people need on average 8 hours of sleep per night (or 7-10 hours) has been around for a while, but the truth is that there is no one who can tell you how much sleep you need. We as individuals are very diverse so it makes sense that our sleeping needs and patterns are just as various. Next time you want to linger in bed just for a little while, know that your body is telling you something. For your own health perhaps you should listen to it.
This study may seem controversial for those defending the idea that men and women aren’t so different. But from an evolutionary point of view, women’s brains have been trained to be more flexible. And the more intense the activity of the brain, the more time it needs to refresh itself. This translates into more deep sleep. If you also have a tendency to worry a lot, well, then even more sleep for you!
Another study revealed that women also suffer more than men when they don’t get enough sleep. Studies point to the fact that poor sleep is associated with high levels of stress, depression, irritability, anxiety and anger. So make sure get enough zzzs.
