Women sleep worse than men: “A good night starts during the day”

Can you believe it? On average, women sleep worse than men – and it's not just because of crying babies or too much coffee. Dr. Suzann Kirschner-Brouns says: “A good night starts during the day.”This means that women's sleep problems are multifaceted – they involve hormones, mental load, and also the small decisions made throughout the day. Many people think that sleep is simply a matter of luck or a purely mental issue. Wrong thinking. Biologically, women are more prone to sleep problems due to hormonal fluctuations, especially around their menstrual cycle, during pregnancy, or during menopause. But there is also a second layer: mental load. Kirschner-Brouns talks about patients who lie awake at night because they are thinking about the next day—school lunches, dentist appointments, birthday presents. This invisible to-do list in their heads makes all the difference. Here's an example from her practice: A mother of two who often can't fall asleep despite feeling tired in the evening describes it this way: “I feel like my brain is working a night shift.”And she's not alone in this. Studies show that women are twice as likely to suffer from sleep disorders as men. Kirschner-Brouns emphasizes: “Men can do a lot to improve their partner's sleep – not only by being considerate, but also by actively reducing the mental load.”A surprising finding: For women, exercising late in the evening can be counterproductive – the adrenaline stays in the bloodstream longer and makes it harder to fall asleep. What is often missing here: The societal expectation that women should manage everything at once—work, children, household—is rarely called into question, but this is precisely one of the main reasons for poor sleep. Interestingly, many retired men report that it is only then that they realize how much their partners stay awake at night for the family. The bottom line is that women's sleep problems are not a matter of individual failure, but rather a structural issue. Once you understand this, you suddenly see sleep as a joint effort. A good night starts during the day – and it starts together. If this perspective was new to you, you can use I'm In on Lara Notes to show that this issue affects you too. And when you eventually talk to someone about mental load or sleep, you can rely on Lara Notes Shared Offline – as a reminder of a conversation that matters. That was from Süddeutsche.de – and it saved you about a minute of your time.