If you toss and turn forever before your eyes fall shut in the evening, the night can become torture. This is especially true for women, who are affected by sleep disorders significantly more often than men. Researchers found that women’s sleep is not only lighter, but that the two sleep robbers, anxiety and worry, affect them more than men. Relaxation techniques such as autogenic training help relieve stress and let go in the evening to become calm.
Women suffer from sleep disorders more often than men
According to a survey by the Allensbach Institute for Public Opinion Research, almost one in four German women suffers from sleep problems, compared with only one in six men. With increasing age, the difference between the sexes becomes greater: while about every third woman between 45 and 60 years often lies awake at night, only every sixth man complains about it even in this age group. “In addition to the menopause, which often robs sleep, fears are also increasing in these women – for example, of old age and of being alone,” says psychologist Inga Margraf.
Many women are left with an emptiness when the children are out of the house and the previous role of mother becomes less important. This is also confirmed by figures from the Allensbach Institute, which show that working women over 45 sleep significantly better than housewives of the same age.
The influence of hormones
Hormones also influence women’s sleep. Not only during menopause and pregnancy, women also sleep more restlessly during certain phases of the menstrual cycle. When menstruation is approaching, many women suffer from:
- Stomach cramps and fluctuations in emotions.
- Nocturnal periods of wakefulness, violent dreams
- Fatigue and exhaustion during the day.
Most often, sleep problems occur at the beginning of menstruation and subside afterwards. “With hormonal sleep problems, women should pay particular attention to a regular sleep rhythm, a healthy lifestyle and a balanced diet and sufficient exercise,” advises Inga Margraf.
Need for sleep decreases with age – in both sexes
How much a person sleeps depends on his or her age. Newborns need the most sleep. Seniors get by on about six hours of sleep. Individually, however, these averages can fluctuate. The proportion of dream sleep in total sleep decreases as one gets older.
The older the less…
From birth, a person’s need for sleep steadily decreases:
- Infants still sleep 16 hours
- Infants need 11 to 13 hours of sleep
- Adults need only about eight hours of sleep
- At retirement age, the need for sleep drops to about six hours
Older thereby not only sleep less, but also the recovery value of sleep decreases. They wake up more often at night, sleep only superficially and are already awake in the morning long before the alarm clock rings. Seniors are advised not to go to bed too early, to keep regular bedtimes and to quietly allow themselves a nap now and then during the day.