The rest gap indicates that women sleep less than men due to societal pressures and expectations, pulling them away from the much-needed act of ‘resting’ they require. So why do women sleep less, and what should be done to address this?
Jillian Wilson / Huffington Post
Last month, UK-based Stylist magazine published an article about the “rest gap.” In essence, the rest gap describes the idea that women get less sleep than men because of societal pressures and expectations that take their focus away from much-needed rest.
Research says women tend to report more sleep trouble in general. They also have to deal with hormone-related issues like hot flashes or nausea during pregnancy, perimenopause and menopause, which further disrupt sleep.
This all creates a tough cycle where women aren’t getting the seven to nine hours of sleep they need.
“I’m always kind of happy to see that somebody can give a name that simplifies such a very nuanced and complex phenomenon,” said LaWanda Hill, a psychologist based in California. “The rest gap speaks to just the ways in which women disproportionately are impacted in society.”
“I think you can add the rest gap, you can add the wealth gap, you can add the health gap … it just really simplifies all the things which we are subjected to because of structures, systems, policies, laws and societal norms,” Hill continued.
There are a lot of contributing factors to the rest gap. Below, experts share their thoughts on why this happens and how to sleep better if you’re experiencing it:
Women are conditioned to take care of others before themselves.
“Societally, there’s so many different reasons why [the rest gap happens] and why women often don’t give themselves permission to rest,” said Tasha Bailey, a psychotherapist in London and author of “Real Talk: Lessons From Therapy on Healing & Self-Love.”
“I think as women, we’ve been primed to be people-pleasers,” Bailey continued. “When we’re children, we’re often celebrated for being nurturing and showing empathy and cooperation.”
Hill offered a similar sentiment, saying that women often grow up believing “they’re responsible for the well-being of ― at the very minimum ― their immediate family.”
Conversely, it’s seen as a bad thing when women are assertive or focus on themselves.
“I think that then leads many women to disregard their own need for rest and to keep working, pushing on and eventually burning out,” Bailey said.
This is especially true for moms.
For women who have children, parenthood adds an additional layer. While many men are more involved than ever when it comes to taking care of their kids, generational conditioning has still taught many people that women need to be the main caregivers. This is often on top of demanding jobs, family of origin needs, friendship needs and community obligations.
This responsibility is “not going to be undone tomorrow … socialization starts in childhood, so we’ve been socialized for so long to believe that we were primarily responsible for that,” Hill said.
Being the main nurturer or caretaker for your kids and family can be rewarding, but it is also downright exhausting. If you’re the main person in charge of making lunches, helping with homework, caring for ailing parents and shuttling kids back and forth to school — you’ll only have less time to rest.
You can read the full article here.