monkey asleep on branch

Wondering why you’re an early bird and he’s a night owl? Why you often nod off in front of the TV, and he demands lie-ins like a teenager? Well, when it comes to sleep, it’s all down to sex apparently

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Eight hours’ sleep a night is the ideal for both men and women. But the evidence shows that men and women’s sleep patterns are ever so slightly different, which could explain why men tend to be night owls while women are more likely to be early risers.

Our bodies all operate an internal clock, or circadian rhythms, that helps regulate the cycle of when we feel sleepy and when we are alert. Generally speaking, circadian rhythms are the same for everyone, operating on roughly 24-hour cycles. However, male and female circadian rhythms don’t exactly match up. Men’s clocks tend to run truer to a full 24-hour cycle or longer (on average, men have a circadian cycle that’s six minutes longer than for women), with the result that they may feel less tired in the evening. In women, on the other hand, the internal clock is more likely to be shorter than a full 24-hour cycle, making it more likely that they will awaken earlier.

Research also shows that men are harder hit by periods of losing sleep. Sleep deprivation causes work performance to suffer more for men than for women, and men recover less quickly from lack of sleep than women do.  On the other hand, women’s shorter circadian cycles mean they are more likely to have a dip in energy at night, so studies show female shift workers are more likely to injure themselves at night.

It is possible to retrain your inner clock to help you feel more awake or sleepy at different parts of the day depending on your work or lifestyle. But, left to its own devices, the body’s natural rhythms make it more likely that if you are a man you will be a night owl and for women an early bird.

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