Sleeping better may help prolong women's lives

WOMEN may live longer than men because they are better sleepers, scientists have claimed.

Researchers in the US found that women suffer less from sleep loss than men.

They appear to be more resistant to the effects of sleep deprivation and sleep more soundly.

The findings show that missing sleep can affect hormone levels and generate harmful chemicals in the body.

Chief scientist Dr Alexandros Vgontzas from Pennsylvania State University believes women’s sleeping habits may have evolved to help them cope with crying babies and disturbed nights.

He thought it could help explain why women live, on average, several years longer than men.

Dr Vgontzas and researchers at the US National Institute of Health studied the effects of missing two hours sleep per night on 25 men and women aged in their 20s.

After a week, the volunteers had become drowsier and did not perform as well in vigilance tests.

Both sexes showed increased levels of inflammatory chemicals called cytokines.

But only men had raised levels of a chemical called tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF), which may contribute to the development of obesity and diabetes.

“Greater increases in TNF-alpha levels put men at greater health risks from lack of sleep,” said Dr Vgontzas.

The study, published in the journal Chemistry and Industry, showed that women had 70 minutes of deep sleep per night compared with 40 minutes for men.

In Britain, the life expectancy of women is 81 years and for men 75.

Dr Vgontzas said it was possible the seven year life expectancy gap between women and men could be closed if men were able to sleep more like women.