How Much Sleep Do Women Need Compared to Men?

Women need 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night, the same as men, but they are 1.4 times more likely to have insomnia, so reaching that target is harder.

Women need 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night, the same target the NHS and US sleep experts set for men. The difference lies in getting it: women are about 1.4 times more likely than men to have insomnia, and hormone shifts across the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause disrupt sleep at predictable times.

This article draws on the 2015 US sleep consensus statement in Sleep, a 2006 meta-analysis of 1,265,015 people in Sleep, a 2021 wearables study of 69,650 adults in Sleep, and NHS insomnia guidance reviewed in March 2024, current as of October 2026.

Do Women Need More Sleep Than Men?

No guideline sets a higher sleep target for women than for men. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society recommend 7 or more hours a night for adults aged 18 to 60, and the NHS says adults need 7 to 9 hours. A widely repeated claim that women need about 20 minutes more sleep is not part of any formal recommendation.

Women may still sleep slightly longer in practice. A 2021 study in Sleep analysed 11.14 million nights from 69,650 adults in 47 countries using wearable trackers. Men tended to sleep less than women at every age. Women, however, woke during the night more often, with the widest gap in early to middle adulthood. Time asleep and restful sleep are therefore not the same thing for many women. As of 2026, no major guideline sets a separate number of hours for women.

Why Do Women Sleep Worse Than Men?

Women sleep worse than men mainly because insomnia is more common in women. Hormonal transitions add further disruption. A 2006 meta-analysis of 1,265,015 people in Sleep found a risk ratio of 1.41 for insomnia in women versus men, and its authors wrote: "This meta-analysis confirmed a female predisposition of insomnia."

Insomnia means regular trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking too early, with tiredness the next day. A 2025 systematic review of 55 studies in Women's Health found that the menstrual cycle affected sleep. Sleep difficulties were more common in adult women than men, and pregnancy and perimenopause added more. Rising progesterone after ovulation and falling oestrogen (estrogen) at menopause both affect body temperature and sleep depth, as mapped in the guide to the four cycle phases. Month-to-month changes are covered in the article on how periods affect sleep quality, and the midlife shift in the guide to when perimenopause starts.

Solu is a women's wellness app that maps cycle-phase-aware guidance across movement, nutrition, sleep, and energy, built for women tracking hormonal, cycle, and premenstrual symptoms. Its sleep and recovery tracking turns nightly entries into phase-by-phase insights. A woman can then see whether her shortest nights land in the same phase every month.

How Can a Woman Work Out Her Own Sleep Debt?

A woman can work out her weekly sleep debt by multiplying her nightly target by 7 and subtracting the hours she actually slept. Sleep debt is the running shortfall between sleep needed and sleep obtained. With the 7-hour minimum, the weekly target is 49 hours, and any total below that is the debt to recover.

A worked example with two logged weeks shows how much the answer can change within one month:

Mid-cycle week: 7 hours on five weeknights plus 8 hours on two weekend nights totals 51 hours, a 2-hour surplus.
Pre-period week: 6.5 hours on four nights and 5.5 hours on three broken nights totals 42.5 hours, a 6.5-hour debt.
Catch-up maths: adding 30 to 60 minutes of sleep a night closes a 6.5-hour gap on paper in about 7 to 13 nights.

Waking at 3am, lying awake for 40 minutes, then struggling to get up on three nights before bleeding can pull a weekly average close to 6 hours. Bedtime need not change at all. Tiredness that clusters in those days is explained in the guide to why women feel so tired before a period.

How Can Women Get More Restful Sleep?

Women can get more restful sleep by keeping a fixed wake time and avoiding caffeine and alcohol before bed. A dark, quiet bedroom helps, as does planning for the nights before a period, when sleep often worsens. The NHS lists stress, caffeine, alcohol, and noise among common causes of insomnia.

Regular exercise helps too, and gentler evening sessions suit the late luteal phase, as set out in the guide to what cycle syncing is and how to start. Cortisol, the main stress hormone, follows a daily rhythm that late-night stress can disturb, explained in the article on why cortisol matters for women. Over three or four cycles, Solu's symptom, energy, and mood trends can reveal whether a dip in energy reliably follows the shortest nights. That turns vague tiredness into a pattern worth acting on.

When Should a Woman See a Doctor About Sleep?

A woman should see a GP if she has had trouble sleeping for months, if self-help changes have not worked, or if poor sleep makes daily life hard to cope with. These are the NHS thresholds for insomnia. Loud snoring with pauses in breathing, or night sweats that wake her several times a week, also justify an appointment.

Daytime sleepiness despite 7 to 9 hours in bed can point to sleep apnoea, iron deficiency, or a thyroid problem. A GP can test for each. New insomnia with hot flushes or night sweats in the 40s often reflects perimenopause, which is treatable. Pre-period discomfort can also keep women awake, including breast tenderness, explained in the guide to why breasts hurt before a period.

Key Takeaways

The NHS advises 7 to 9 hours of sleep for adults, and no guideline sets a higher target for women.
A 2006 meta-analysis of 1,265,015 people found women were 1.41 times more likely than men to have insomnia.
A 2021 study of 69,650 adults found men sleep less than women, but women wake during the night more often.
Multiplying a 7-hour target by 7 gives a 49-hour weekly goal, and the shortfall below it is that week's sleep debt.