Video

Breast Cancer Report with Dr. Nancy Snyderman

What Kids Wear Could Determine How Much Exercise They Get

Few College Students Have Received the H1N1 Vaccine

Night Lights Could Lead to Depression

Cervarix Has Been Approved by the FDA

The FDA Is Studying the Effects of Lasik Surgery

Painkillers Can Dull the Effects of Childhood Vaccines

Childbirth May Becoming More Complicated

Botox Sponges Might Help Nose Allergies

The FDA Advises on How to Properly Dispose of Medicine

A French Study Shows Cell Phones Do Not Affect Humans

MRIs May Lead to More Back Surgery

Your More Likely to Wash Your Hands If Someone's Watching

Co-Sleeping Is a Leading Cause of SIDS

Night Shifts Don't Have a Major Effect On Surgeons

Older Women May Sleep Better Than Men

Posted on 10/01/2009, 09:00
By -- Robert Preidt

But many think they get less sleep than they actually do, study finds

THURSDAY, Oct. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Older women sleep longer and better than older men, even though many women believe they have worse sleep, researchers in the Netherlands have found.

The study of 956 people, aged 59 to 79, found that women reported less and poorer sleep than men on all of the self-reported measures, including a 13.2 minute shorter total sleep time (6.79 hours versus 7.01 hours), 10.1 minute longer sleep onset latency, and a 4.2 percent lower sleep efficiency.

However, when the researchers recorded actual sleep data, they found that women slept an average 16 minutes longer than men (estimated 6.65 hours versus 6.40 hours), had a 1.2 percent higher sleep efficiency, and had less fragmented sleep.

Closer investigation revealed that the discrepancies between the women's self-reported and actual quality of sleep were partly explained by factors such as use of sleep medication. Women were more likely than men to use sleep medications (14.9 percent versus 6.1 percent). Both sleep medication use and depressive symptoms were related to significantly shorter self-reported sleep times, the study authors noted.

The researchers said they were surprised to find that women slept longer and better, and reported their sleep duration more accurately, than men.

"The difference between subjective and objective sleep quality arises not because women are more likely to be complainers, but because men strongly overestimate their sleep duration," principal investigator Dr. Henning Tiemeier, an associate professor of psychiatric epidemiology at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, said in a news release from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

The researchers also noted that women may require more sleep than men, meaning the same amount of sleep may be adequate for men but not for women.

The study appears in the Oct. 1 issue of the journal Sleep.

More information

The U.S. National Institute on Aging has more about aging and sleep.

SOURCE: American Academy of Sleep Medicine, news release, Oct. 1, 2009

More news in Sleep Disorders...

BigHealthTree.com Disclaimer

Bighealthtree.com Does Not Provide Medical Advice. This site, including the above information, is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or health advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified health or medical professional before starting any new treatment, changing existing treatment, or altering your current exercise and/or diet program. If you think you are having a medical emergency, call 911 (or the emergency services in your area) or your doctor immediately.

Rating: 2.8 / 5 (127 votes)