A good night’s sleep allows your brain to recover and repair itself. Naturally, the more you work your brain, the more time you should give it to recover from fatigue. How? By sleeping for a longer time. A new study from England’s Loughborough University that states that women need more sleep than men seems to build on this simple thesis.
This study finds men can manage with less sleep because women’s brains perform more complex activities than their male counterparts. This research report says that since women are usually multitaskers, they naturally put their brains to more complex use. In order to perform higher amounts of activity, women’s brains work over a larger region than men’s brains do, thus translating into a greater overall requirement for sleep.
So, how much more sleep does a woman need than a man? The study maintains that women need about 20 minutes more sleep per night than men. The research sheds some light on the male sleeping pattern as well, adding that men who perform cerebral jobs that involve lots of lateral thinking and decision-making will need more sleep than men engaged in not-so-demanding professions.
Women’s Brains Are Different from Men’s Brains
A 2014 University of Pennsylvania study conducted on 949 volunteers revealed that as far as women are concerned, there is a strong connection between the two hemispheres of the brain. This is not the case with men – their brains are well-connected but only within each hemisphere. This explains the superior multi-tasking ability in most women. Thanks to their different brain configuration, men are better at focusing deeply on one task at a time, while the female brain is better at performing multiple functions simultaneously. Women, while multi-tasking, process information about five times faster than men do. However, this efficiency of the female brain comes at a cost; they get damaged more easily than male brains. Also, the female brain cannot repair itself as quickly as the male brain can. That is why the daily recovery and repairing process through sleep is so important for women.
Attention ladies! Are you getting enough sleep? If not, consult one of our expert physicians to help you out. Apart from wellness programs and holistic remedies, we also offer consultation on lifestyle modification. Get in touch with us to enjoy better sleep and a healthier life.