Study: Women need more sleep than men because their brains are more complex

A recent study discovered that women need more sleep than men because their brains are wired differently.

"Women’s brains are wired differently from men’s and are more complex, so their sleep need will be slightly greater," Professor Jim Horne, director of Loughborough University’s Sleep Research Centre, told Metro.

According to researchers, women need to sleep about 20 minutes longer each night because their brains work harder during the day.

"The more of your brain you use during the day, the more of it that needs to recover and, consequently, the more sleep you need. 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. Because of that, their sleep need is greater. But there is a small exception. A man who has a complex job that involves a lot of decision-making and lateral thinking may also need more sleep than the average male. Though probably still not as much as a woman."


The study followed 210 middle-aged men and women. Woman's Day reports that women were more affected by the lack of sleep.

"For women, poor sleep is strongly associated with high levels of psychological distress and greater feelings of hostility, depression, and anger," said Horne.

Previous research has proven that insomnia is more common in women that in men.