We all know about the battle of the sexes and sleep cycles are no different.
It has been found that a women’s body clock causes them to fall asleep and wake up earlier than men. Women sleep cycles are slightly different to mens and women need 20 minutes more sleep than men per night. This difference causes women to have a more disturbed sleep pattern. Because of this disturbed sleep pattern women are awake to react if they have a snoring partner. Men on the other hand are sleeping better than their female counterparts and might not be woken by the adverse nocturnal sounds of snoring.
So women are unaware that they snore and even worse suffer from sleep apnea. Women tend to attribute their tiredness, headaches, moodiness and weight gain to hormones, excess worry or work related tensions.
Doctors are also unaware and most women are treated with medications and an underlying cause like snoring or sleep apnea is not addressed.
What does excess weight have to do with sleep?
Researchers found women who had consistent sleep patterns have the least amount of body fat. Results to the research showed that a consistent sleep time but more importantly a consistent wake up time was linked to a lower body fat.
Sleeping between 8 – 8.5 hours a night was tied to the least amount of body fat. Quality of sleep is also important and women who have disruptive sleep patterns have a change in composition with a loss of muscle to body fat.
Women who do not know that they suffer from snoring or sleep apnea will suffer from weight gain. If this weight gain gets out of control then they will definitely snore or suffer from sleep apnea.
How do women perform when they are tired?
In a recent study it was said that women perform better than men when sleep deprived and they can bounce back faster after a few days of sleep deprivation. Women bodies are designed to care for their young and often have to operate with little sleep. In the latter years women again go through menopause and hormonal changes which again impacts on their quality of sleep.
Can Snoring and Sleep Apnea be a danger to your health?
Women have a different relationship with sleep and illness. Women who had less than 8 hours of sleep demonstrated an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and obesity over their male counterparts.
Snoring and sleep apnea display similar symptoms and may be confused or mis-diagnosed.
The initial symptoms include:
- Tiredness
- Feeling anxious
- Lack of motivation to exercise
- Interrupted sleep
- Weight gain
- Headaches
Left unchecked, these symptoms can become serious and these include:
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Thyroid
If you feel you could be suffering from any of these conditions have it checked sooner rather than later.
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Article Reference
Why do women need more sleep than men?
Sex difference in the near 24 hour intrinsic period of the human circadian timing system.
Weekend sleep fails to improve performance, but women handle workweek sleep loss better.