Research shows that women DO need more sleep than men

If you have a strong bond with your bed and have to peel yourself out of it in mornings (I for one am guilty), this could be of interest. Professor Jim Horne, a sleep neuroscientist and formerly Director of Loughborough University’s Sleep Research Centre, is of the opinion that women can experience increased levels of psychological distress due to lack of sleep BUT this isn't as likely for men. Horne noted that in general, these feelings "were not associated with the same degree of sleep disruption" for males. Speaking to Mail Online previously, Horne said that because women tend to "multi-task", their brains are used more during the day and, as a result, they need more time to recover.

"The more of your brain you use during the day, the more of it that needs to recover and, consequently, the more sleep you need. “Women tend to multi-task — they do lots at once and are flexible — and so they use more of their actual brain than men do. Because of that, their sleep need is greater".

Horne, who has a vast knowledge of all thing sleep having edited the Journal of Sleep Research for fifteen years, said that on average, females need twenty minutes more sleep but this can vary from woman to woman. The sleep expert also pointed out that men whose jobs involve "decision-making and lateral thinking” are also likely to need more sleep. Horne's research, which focused on 210 middle-aged men and women, was originally released in 2010 but to be fair, this is research we'll be referring to again and again.