Science shows women need more sleep as they process information '5 times faster' than men

Time to start hitting snooze on your alarm

Wondering why your boyfriend is always a bundle of energy while you’re dying for a nap, even though you went to bed at the same time? Studies suggest you may use your brain more than him.

Despite saying we're great at running on little sleep, and can stay up late to watch Netflix with our partners, studies suggest women should actually be sleeping for longer than men.

A study from Loughborough University's Sleep Research Center in England involving 200 sleepers found that women need about 20 extra minutes of sleep each night compared to men. 

The university’s research team attributed this to women’s level of brain activity. 

So if you feel like you’re always trying to do 20 things at once and your brain just never turns off, you’ve got data to prove you’re right.

Women multitask more

Author of Sleepfaring: A Journey Through The Science of Sleep, professor Jim Horne said “​​Women tend to multi-task, they do lots at once and are flexible, and so they use more of their actual brain than men do.”

Director of the Brain Science Centre at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, Dr. Apostolos Georgopoulos agreed, saying "What we have found is that women, in many different tasks, process information about five times faster than men, and use much less of their brain to do identical cognitive performance”. 

No wonder it can feel like men just wake up energised while we desperately need a few more minutes of rest – our brains need time to recover.

Women’s active brains

Other studies have drawn similar conclusions, with researchers from Amen Clinics finding that women’s brains are more active in key areas including focus, impulse control and the limbic areas of the brain, which are associated with anxiety, mood and emotions. 

It’s amazing we’re not all more emotionally burnt out.

As per The Female Quotient, this heightened activity could be behind women traditionally displaying ‘greater empathy, intuition, collaboration, and self-control’.

Unfortunately, this ‘increased blood flow in the limbic system translates to women being at a higher risk for anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and insomnia too.’

Unfortunately, this ‘increased blood flow in the limbic system translates to women being at a higher risk for anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and insomnia too.’ Image: iStock

We still often don’t get enough sleep

But despite needing more sleep for our health, women often aren’t getting a good rest.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, ‘Women are more likely than men to report short sleep, poor sleep quality, and daytime symptoms associated with poor sleep, and insomnia is up to 1.4 times more common in women than men’. 

Medical anthropologist and founder of TCY Women, Kanwal L Haq said on top of medical or lifestyle barriers to women getting a good sleep, we’re also made to feel like we can’t ever just slow down and relax.

She said “Female leaders who embody the 'hustle 24/7' mindset” continue to be celebrated in Western cultures, “reflecting societal values that equate constant productivity with success.” 

So if you’re already struggling to stick to your New Year’s resolution of getting more sleep, let this be your sign to hit snooze and let yourself sleep in. 

Originally published as Science shows women need more sleep as they process information '5 times faster' than men