Stress and sleep quality: Do you wake up feeling fresh or groggy? It depends on your gender

Sleep is often said to be the ultimate remedy for physical and mental exhaustion, but what if it’s more than that? Recent research into stress and sleep suggests that the way you sleep might not only affect how you recover from stress, but also how resilient you are to it in the first place.

Surprisingly, this relationship between sleep and stress appears to be different for women and men.
Understanding how we respond to stress is becoming more important than ever. While some people seem to bounce back after stressful experiences, others struggle for much longer. Scientists believe sleep could be one of the reasons.

According to a research published in Neuropsychopharmacology, deep sleep, particularly non-REM (Non rapid eye movement, or NREM) sleep, may actively protect the brain against stress, but the benefits appear to differ between sexes. In the study, male mice with better-quality NREM sleep showed greater resilience, while females who had more NREM sleep after stress were actually more likely to suffer negative effects. These findings suggest that your biology may influence how sleep supports your mental health.

Signs that your sleep may be affecting your stress levels

• You feel worse after sleeping in: It might sound counterintuitive, but if more sleep leaves you feeling foggy or anxious, it could be a sign your sleep isn't truly restorative, more so if you're female. Quality over quantity is key.


• You struggle to bounce back from challenges: If every stressful event knocks you sideways for days, poor sleep, especially disrupted deep sleep, might be reducing your resilience.


• You’re more irritable or emotionally sensitive: Lack of NREM sleep has been linked with mood changes. If you find yourself reacting more emotionally than usual, your sleep may be to blame.


• You wake up frequently during the night: Fragmented sleep, especially during the first half of the night, may prevent your brain from reaching the deep sleep states necessary for emotional recovery.


• You need naps to get through the day: Feeling the need to nap often could be your body’s way of making up for poor-quality sleep at night, which may in turn affect how you cope with daily stress.