The Better Sleep Council found that an increasing number of women feel a good night’s sleep, like proper diet and exercise, is central to their overall health and well being. However, while they understand this critical link, the poll shows that women are failing to get the sleep they need. Previous research indicates that women are more sleep-deprived than men, have greater difficulty falling and staying asleep, and experience more daytime sleepiness. This survey found that some groups of women experience more sleep loss than others.

Work, Marriage and Geography Affect How Women Sleep

Women are not getting enough sleep, but the amount of sleep they do get is tied to many factors in their lives.

Women understand the importance of sleep

While women know how necessary sleep is to their health, most are just not getting enough.

• One-third of female respondents feel that a balanced lifestyle requires a proper diet, regular exercise and a good night’s sleep

Divorce keeps women up at night

Marital status plays a role in how well women are sleeping.

• Women who are divorced or separated were 9% more likely than single women to get at most 5 hours of sleep each night
• Divorced and separated women were 6% more likely than married women to say they get, at most, 5 hours of sleep a night

Work outside the home means better sleep

Work, and the type of work, plays a role in the amount of rest women get.

• Women who do not work outside the home were 8% more likely than all other women to get less sleep than they need
• Female business professionals aren’t tossing and turning – they’re among the most likely to get a good night’s sleep

Where to live to sleep well

Where a woman lives impacts how well she sleeps at night.

• Women living in the populous Northeast and West Coast have more trouble sleeping than people in other regions

Minority women are losing sleep

It’s clear that minority women have a greater sleep deficit than white women.

• 27% of Hispanic women report not getting enough sleep
• 22% of African-American women say they don’t get enough sleep
• 13% of white women report not sleeping enough

Survey Details: Better Sleep Council, 2005