Women suffer from sleep difficulties more than men because a woman’s body goes through more hormonal changes and because women tend to take on more responsibilities like work, child care, household chores and taking care of the big baby (husband/significant other/lump on couch). Combine all this with a lack of leisure time, women often can feel exhausted. Being troopers, women keep going ignoring their tiredness as a symptom of a lack of sleep.
Women consistently taking more than half an hour to fall asleep also tend to be in a higher risk category for Type 2 diabetes and other medical problems. See your doctor if this is the case for you.
Top 12 causes of sleep problems women experience:
- menstruation – some become drowsy before and during their period
- birth control pills – alters a woman’s hormonal balance
- sex – may feel frustrated and physically restless if she did not achieve an orgasm
- menopause – may have feeling of depression and nervousness
- pregnancy – many pregnant women sleep poorly just because they can’t get comfortable
- emotional issues – depression and anxiety
- snoring with accompanying sleep apnea
- restless legs syndrome
- poor sleep habits
- narcolepsy – having sleep attacks during the day
- taking drugs and alcohol to get to sleep
- too much caffeine late in the day
Poor overall health can prevent a woman from getting a good night’s sleep. So eat right, exercise, make getting a restful amount of sleep a priority and learn to say “No” to some of life’s requests on your time. Giving the lump on the couch a boot may also help.
