Gender Differences in Sleep During Aging: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Sleep is a fundamental biological need for rest, maintenance and restoration of physical and mental well-being. Irregular sleep causes changes in the circadian cycle and can lead to changes in physiological processes. Furthermore, it is different between men and women. Therefore, the objective of this research is to carry out a narrative review on the topics, sleep, aging and the difference between sleep in relation to gender. The literature points out that there are differences in sleep between women and men. Women present complaints regarding sleep, such as insomnia, due to the physiological and cyclical variation of their organism. Men, on the other hand, report more problems with their sleep due to respiratory problems, such as apnea, and excessive daytime sleepiness. There are few studies on the topic nowadays, so it would be interesting to study more about the impact of these differences during aging