SOUL + BODY: Poor Sleep Takes a Higher Toll on Women

A s a general rule, women are twice as likely as men to report sleep problems, and a new study from Duke University suggests why: Sleepless women suffer more than sleepless men.
“We found that for women, poor sleep is strongly associated with high levels of psychological distress and greater feelings of hostility, depression, and anger,” says Edward Suarez, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry at Duke University and lead author of the study. “In contrast, these feelings were not associated with the same degree of sleep disruption in men.”
The study participants — 210 healthy, middle-aged men and women who didn’t smoke, struggle with insomnia, or take medications regularly — completed questionnaires, gave blood samples, and rated their sleep quality for one month. Although 40 percent of both men and women were classified as poor sleepers, they ended up with dramatically different health-risk profiles.
Falling asleep quickly is the key to a good night’s sleep. These researchers found that the participants who slept poorly during the night didn’t suffer as much as those who didn’t fall asleep fast in the first place. Women who didn’t fall asleep within the first half hour were most at risk for health problems.
Why are women more susceptible than men? It could be due to the activity of various hormones and neurotransmitters, such as tryptophan, serotonin, and melatonin. Each of these substances affects mood, sleep, inflammation, and insulin resistance in different ways for men and women. More sleep research is underway.

Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen