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March is National Sleep Awareness Month.
I was staring at my bedroom ceiling at 3 a.m. when I had a very rational thought: The movies I grew up with are gaslighting my sleep.
Hear me out: In Sleeping Beauty, princess Aurora falls into a deep slumber — but it’s a curse. She wasn’t even supposed to wake up! Then there’s Sleepless in Seattle, which is basically saying if you want to fall in love — you can’t fall asleep. If you do fall asleep? Nightmare on Elm Street.
It all makes sense as to why my brain and body are boycotting ZZZs. Of course, it could also have something to do with fluctuating hormones, age, health conditions and everyday stressors that don’t involve a boogeyman.
The truth is 1 in 4 women in the U.S. have trouble falling asleep and/or staying asleep. And not getting enough quality sleep can lead to a wide range of mental and physical health problems.
Take our quiz to get the facts and learn what women need to know about sleep.
1. Adults need at least six hours of sleep a night for optimal physical and mental health.
Correct
Incorrect
false. Adults need at least seven hours of sleep a night. Although different people have different sleep needs, studies show that people who get at least seven hours of sleep on a consistent basis have better attention spans, improved mood and a lower risk of chronic health conditions compared to people who sleep less than seven hours a night.
2. There are two types of sleep.
Correct
Incorrect
true. There are two types of sleep — rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-REM sleep. The average person cycles through non-REM and REM sleep several times a night, with increasingly longer, deeper REM periods happening later in your sleep cycle. Your dreams of being backstage at a Harry Styles concert usually happen during REM sleep.
3. Women need more sleep than men.
Correct
Incorrect
true. Why? Because we said so. (And research shows that women tend to have more brain activity compared to men, so women need more sleep to allow the brain to recover and repair itself.)
4. Women are less likely to have sleep problems than men.
Correct
Incorrect
false. Women are more likely to have sleep problems compared to men. For example, women are 40% more likely to develop insomnia and twice as likely to have restless legs syndrome, a condition that causes an irresistible urge to move your legs, especially when you’re resting. Hormonal fluctuations can also affect sleep. Women who have severe premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and/or painful period cramps may have insomnia leading up to and during the first few days of their period. And vasomotor symptoms (VMS) of menopause — hot flashes and night sweats — are major disruptors when it comes to falling and staying asleep.
5. A lack of sleep can hurt your heart.
Correct
Incorrect
true. Insomnia causes an increase in cortisol — the stress hormone — and chronic inflammation, which can speed up the hardening of arteries and lead to cardiovascular disease — the number one cause of death of women in the U.S. One meta-analysis found that people with chronic insomnia had a 45% increased risk of cardiovascular disease compared to people who didn’t have insomnia.
6. You can “catch up” on sleep over the weekend.
Correct
Incorrect
false. Unfortunately, sleeping in until noon on the weekend won’t necessarily correct the effects of sleep deprivation during the week. One study found that participants who got less than seven hours of sleep during the week but slept in on the weekends still experienced changes to their metabolism, showed a drop in insulin sensitivity and gained weight. The best thing to do for your health is to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day — even on weekends.
7. Sleep apnea (when breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep) is rare in women.
Correct
Incorrect
false. Sleep apnea used to be thought of as a men's health condition, but research shows it’s more common in women than previously thought, and the risk for sleep apnea increases during and after menopause. In fact, about 9 out 10 women with sleep apnea don’t even know they have it. Sleep apnea is a serious condition and has been linked to heart disease, diabetes and other health conditions.Snoring is the most recognizable sign of sleep apnea, but symptoms may present differently in women and can include brain fog, sleepiness during the day, mood changes, headaches in the morning and anxiety/depression. Talk to your healthcare provider if you’re experiencing any of these symptoms.
8. Sleeping too much may increase your risk for dementia.
Correct
Incorrect
true. Recent research has shown sleeping too much or too little can significantly affect brain health. In one of the largest neuroimaging studies of its kind, researchers at Yale looked at the brain images of nearly 40,000 middle-aged adults and found participants who slept less than seven hours and more than nine hours showed changes in the brain that are known to increase the risk of stroke and dementia.
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