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The Impact of Gender on Sleep Development
- Girls exhibit advanced inter-hemispheric fiber development and higher cortical function maturation rates compared to boys, which may explain differences in sleep physiology and duration.
- Girls tend to sleep longer with less fragmentation compared to boys through infancy to adolescence, manifesting early and persisting through developmental stages and may stem from biological factors.
- Adolescent girls face unique stressors, which can disrupt sleep, making them report higher rates of insomnia symptoms compared to boys, and may stem from stress reactivity, emotional processing, and fluctuating ovarian hormone levels.
- Sleep disorders, including insomnia, show clear sex-related prevalence patterns. Recent studies highlight that boys are more prone to non-rapid eye movement (NREM) parasomnias in childhood, whereas adolescent girls are more susceptible to insomnia.
- Oestradiol, a key female sex hormone, impacts sleep architecture by promoting sleep stability and influencing the brain regions associated with sleep regulation. Conversely, testosterone appears to have a negligible impact on sleep patterns.
- Sleep and cognitive development intersect in gender-specific ways, as girls tend to outperform boys in language-related tasks, reflecting their higher levels of slow-wave activity (SWA) in cortical regions associated with language processing. Boys, on the other hand, excel in spatial tasks, indicative of the different areas of the brain activated during sleep.
- Addressing sleep disparities requires a multifaceted approach. Schools, families, and healthcare providers must work together to create environments that support healthy sleep habits. For adolescents, interventions should be tailored to their developmental stage, taking into account the hormonal and psychosocial factors that influence sleep.
- Future research should focus on the mechanisms underlying these differences, particularly the role of sex hormones and their interaction with environmental factors. Longitudinal studies tracking sleep patterns from infancy to adulthood could provide valuable insights into how these differences evolve and how they can be addressed.
- From infancy through to adulthood, girls consistently exhibit longer, higher-quality sleep than boys, a difference rooted in both biology and the environment. These patterns have profound implications for cognitive development, emotional well-being, and overall health.
- Recognizing and addressing sex and gender differences in sleep may promote better sleep health and improve the quality of life for individuals across all stages of development.
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