Do women need more sleep? The science says yes.
Women are 40% more likely to experience insomnia than men. Here’s an inside look at how women’s sleep changes across monthly cycles, pregnancy, and menopause.
Most people think of trouble sleeping as a lifestyle issue — something fixed with better habits or an earlier bedtime. And to some degree, it is. But for women, it's more complicated than that...
Unlike men, whose hormones stay relatively stable month to month, women's hormones shift every week and go through dramatic changes over our lifetimes. Those shifts don't just lead to mood swings or low energy. They directly affect how well you sleep, how deeply you recover, and how rested you feel in the morning.
Here's a deep dive into what the research says about women's sleep needs, and how sleep changes across the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, the postpartum period, and menopause.
Do women need more sleep than men?
You may have seen trending Instagram posts that claim “women need more sleep because their brains work harder.” While researchers have pushed back on a ‘harder working brain’ as the culprit, the stats confirm there is a problem in the state of women’s sleep…
Women experience higher rates of sleep issues
Women report increased sleep disturbances and are ~40% more likely to experience insomnia than men. They also have higher rates of restless leg syndrome (RLS), an uncomfortable and irresistible urge to move one’s legs at night that can make it harder to fall asleep.1
When it comes to parenthood, women are 2.5x more likely to interrupt their sleep for caregiving, found a University of Michigan study.2 Another study revealed that women’s sleep drops by ~42 minutes after becoming a mom, compared to ~30 minutes for fathers.3
The twist: women actually sleep more than men
One 4-year survey of 56,149 adults found that women sleep an average of 11-13 minutes more than men every night.4 Other studies have found women tend to fall asleep faster and get more deep sleep than men.5, 6 While this might seem confusing on the surface, researchers suggest a simple explanation: women get more sleep, because they need it!
Why women wake up sleep deprived, even after a good night
Generally, women's bodies have more going on biologically than men’s, with hormones that peak and plummet on weekly schedules and tissue that rebuilds every month. Beyond the monthly cycle, women navigate several seismic hormonal shifts across a lifetime: at puberty, pregnancy, and menopause. Men, by comparison, only experience a stable, gradual ~1% annual decline in testosterone starting from age 30-40.7
In other words: women’s sleep problems may be rooted in constantly shifting hormone levels that contribute to increased recovery requirements.
How many hours of sleep do women need?
Women may benefit from 7-9 hours of sleep per night — a slight extension to the usual recommended amount of sleep (7-8 hours). The biggest culprit isn’t your habits. In many cases, it’s hormones and biology. Here’s how it works.
From first period to menopause: how women's sleep changes
Sleep during your cycle
Starting at puberty, usually between 8 to 13 years old, the week before a woman’s period through the end of her period features key hormonal shifts that can prompt sleep disruptions and impact sleep health:
→ Progesterone drops, taking its mild sedative effects and deep sleep support with it.
→ Estrogen drops, reducing body-wide cellular energy and alertness.
→ Prostaglandins rise, increasing inflammation that can prompt body-wide fatigue, similar to fighting off a cold or flu.
→ Core body temperature rises ~0.5-1° F. Considering temperature needs to drop 2-3° F for high-quality sleep, this small rise can make it significantly harder to fall asleep.
→ Blood loss reduces iron, an essential for cellular energy and transporting oxygen. Even small drops can lead to energy crashes + fatigue.
→ Pain itself fatigues the body. Pain from cramps isn’t just pain. It involves inflammation, nerve signaling, and increased energy spent for repair + recovery.
Sleeping difficulty in pregnancy
Sleep becomes notoriously difficult during pregnancy, where hormones hit new peaks and the body undergoes significant changes to build new life.
1st trimester (1-13 weeks)
→ Progesterone rises rapidly, bringing fatigue and extra sleepiness with it.
→ Estrogen surges, causing nasal congestion, reduced REM sleep, and vivid dreams that prompt wake-ups.
→ HCG rises sharply (the hormone behind morning sickness), increasing daytime fatigue while prompting nausea and discomfort that disrupts sleep schedules and drives insomnia.
2nd trimester (14-27 weeks)
→ Progesterone keeps climbing and inversely begins impairing sleep, triggering muscle relaxation that causes heartburn, acid reflux, and frequent bathroom trips.
→ Estrogen continues surging. This is when many women begin to notice more sleep issues and difficulty feeling well rested even after a full night’s sleep.
3rd trimester (28-40+ weeks)
→ Oxytocin peaks at night, potentially triggering Braxton Hicks contractions that cause wake-ups.
→ Cortisol hits peak levels. Although rising since the first trimester, this stress hormone peaks in the 3rd trimester, keeping you ‘tired but wired.’
Sleep post-pregnancy
The hormones that sustained pregnancy typically crash within 24-48 hours after giving birth:
→ Estrogen + progesterone plummet ~90%. This is a core culprit behind the baby blues, which affect 80% of new moms. It features major interruptions to cellular energy, dopamine, hormones that support drowsiness, and deep sleep.
→ HCG drops almost back to zero within 7-90 days, taking with it the extra daytime fatigue, nausea, discomfort, bathroom-based interruptions that can impair sleep.
→ Prolactin increases for breast milk. Breastfeeding may increase deep, slow-wave sleep, with nighttime feedings helping some women fall asleep faster.
→ Cortisol remains elevated, keeping the mind in a ‘tired but wired’ state of hyperarousal that makes it hard to relax for sleep at night.
And that’s before considering how the baby complicates a new mom’s sleep schedule!
Menopause sleep problems
Menopause — where a woman's body shifts into a new phase that no longer supports pregnancy — lasts an average of 7 years. It can even last up to 14 years in some cases.
Unlike menstruation, where hormone shifts follow a predictable monthly pattern, menopause is marked by unpredictability. Hormones fluctuate without warning. Periods arrive early, late, or not at all, then suddenly return.
Eventually, the fluctuations lead to permanent losses:
→ Estrogen takes a steep and permanent decline, reducing dopamine support, thermoregulation, and serotonin production. The result: hot flashes, night sweats, disrupted sleep cycles, and wake-ups.
→ Progesterone drops permanently, taking its sedative effects and deep sleep support with it.
→ Melatonin declines and circadian rhythms destabilize, making consistent, restorative sleep harder to come by.
All in, around 40–60% of women experience poor sleep during menopause.
Rest isn't a luxury. It's essential to your wellbeing.
From heart health to mental health, chronically low-quality sleep can have a huge impact on your mind and body. Luckily, research has found there are many ways to relieve stress before bed and help your body slip soundly into sleep mode. Here are 12 research-backed tips to safeguard deep, high-quality Zzz's, no matter how your sleep changes over time.
📖 12 tips for better sleep during menopause →
Bad sleep isn’t just in your head.
And it doesn't have to be your forever.
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*Somnee is designed for adults (18+) and should not be worn during pregnancy.
