Sleep is vital to our health and well-being. But becoming one with poor sleep A growing problem Worldwide, it’s more essential than ever to know what aspects affect sleep quality.
Surprisingly, one factor that affects how well an individual sleeps at night is their gender. Research shows Sleep problems Appears to be more common in women. Other studies have also shown that ladies could also be more affected. Circadian rhythm disturbances than men (a few 24-hour cycle that controls lots of our body's processes).
But there's still quite a bit we don't find out about how men and ladies might differ in terms of sleep and circadian rhythms — and the way such differences might impact health.
That's what a brand new review by me and my colleagues tried to uncover. We revealed. Important differences In sleep quality and circadian rhythm function in men and ladies. We also found that these aspects can affect metabolism, which may have long-term effects on an individual's health and risk of certain diseases.
Differences in body clock
To conduct our review, we reviewed roughly 150 articles, most of which were published prior to now decade, on various features of sleep, circadian rhythms and metabolism, in addition to potential sex differences in these features. Just a few studies were reviewed about
We uncovered some significant differences in the best way men and women sleep – variations of their circadian rhythms and the best way their metabolisms work in consequence.
We showed that ladies report lower quality sleep than men. We also found that their sleep quality fluctuated greater than men.
Furthermore, our review revealed that ladies are 50% more likely than men to develop sleep disorders, e.g. Restless Leg Syndrome. On the opposite hand, there are even men Three times more likely Diagnosing sleep deprivation in women. However, this will likely be on account of differences in how women present themselves in comparison with men.
Our review also shows that differences between men and ladies don’t exist just for sleep and sleep problems.
Melatonin, a hormone that helps with circadian rhythms and sleep timing, is secreted barely earlier in women than in men. Core body temperature, which is highest before going to sleep and lowest just a few hours before waking up, Similar patterns – Peak body temperature appears earlier in women than in men. This may help explain why women prefer earlier bedtimes than men.
But men prefer to sleep. Wake up laterwhich can conflict with social demands, comparable to work.
Overall, women reported poorer sleep quality on average and had a better risk of insomnia. However, men had a better risk of sleep apnea.
Changes in metabolism
Both sleep quality and circadian rhythms. Strong effects on metabolismwith Previous research Showing a link between circadian rhythm disruption and increased risk of metabolic diseases comparable to obesity and sort 2 diabetes. Therefore, our review also investigated the connection between these two aspects and metabolism – and whether it also differs between men and ladies.
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We found that ladies's and men's brains respond in a different way to pictures of food once they're sleep-deprived. We found that brain regions related to emotion were twice as energetic in sleep-deprived women in comparison with sleep-deprived men. But sleep-deprived men reported. Feeling hungry in comparison with women. These responses may suggest that this will likely affect an individual's food decisions the next day – comparable to which foods they select and the way much they eat. But it could be essential for future studies to check this concept.
Our review also identified links between circadian rhythm disruption and metabolic disease.
We found that folks who worked night shifts were more prone to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes than those that worked through the day. But one man was vulnerable to developing type 2 diabetes. Twice as much When working night shifts is in comparison with women.
But female night shift staff were shown around. One and a half times Day shift staff usually tend to be chubby or obese than women.
All these findings show how essential sleep and circadian rhythms are in terms of our metabolism and risk of certain diseases related to diabetes and body weight.
Overall, these findings reinforce what other studies have shown before us, which is that biological sex can affect many features of sleep — including the standard of an individual's sleep, What sleep problems they might be more vulnerable to and the way their body responds to sleep deprivation.
Our findings also highlight the necessity to treat sleep and circadian rhythm disorders depending on an individual's gender – with our research shedding light on a number of the possible explanation why men and women Respond differently to existing treatments.
But while evidence is starting to point out how an individual's gender can affect their circadian rhythm and sleep quality, we still don't know much. This is basically on account of Underrepresentation of women In Sleep and Circadian Rhythm Research. It can also be currently unknown which specific mechanisms explain why sleep and circadian rhythm problems are related to increased risk of certain health conditions, and why sleep and circadian rhythms differ between men and women. are
We also need to contemplate. Menstruation and contraceptive use When designing studies, because they affect sleep and circadian rhythms.
By investigating these issues, we could also be higher in a position to understand why these differences exist between men and ladies in terms of sleep and health – and supply simpler treatments for men and women. might be higher equipped to do