?Women are more prone to sleep problems than men..Why
Sleep disorders affect women more than men | Source: Unsplash
Sleep disorders are a common problem, especially with age, and research indicates that these problems affect women more than men.
And the results of a recent survey conducted by the "National Sleep Foundation", an American non-profit organization, showed that women are more likely to report difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep for long enough.
Fiona Baker, director of the Sleep Research Program at SRI International in California, said sleep problems are caused by a combination of biological, psychological and social factors.
During the childbearing years, hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle may cause changes in mood (such as anxiety and depression) and physical symptoms (such as cramps, bloating, and tender breasts), which may disrupt sleep.
Shelby Harris, assistant professor of neuroscience and psychology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, points to symptoms that affect pregnant women, especially in the first and last trimesters, such as nausea, frequent urination and anxiety, as well as while caring for a newborn.
She points out that "almost all women's brains are trained to hear the baby", which can lead to a pattern of heightened alertness that can make sleeping more difficult after a woman has given birth.
Sleep problems may occur as a result of disturbances that occur during the years before and after menopause.
Postmenopausal women are more likely to develop obstructive sleep apnea, which means breathing stops temporarily during sleep, leading to frequent awakenings.
Women are also more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression in general. According to a Gallup poll conducted last May, the percentage of women who reported suffering from depression was more than twice that of men.
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