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April 27, 2026
Marianne Waldenfels
Why do women sleep worse? Doctor Suzann Kirschner-Brouns explains how hormones, stress, and menopause affect sleep – and what really helps
Sleep is far more than just rest - it influences our health, well-being, and performance. But it is precisely women sleep often worse than men. Why this is the case, what role hormones, stress, and life phases like menopause play, and what specifically helps, explains the doctor Suzann Kirschner-Brouns in an interview.
In her new book "Women and Sleep" (Dumont), she sheds light on the so-called Gender Sleep Gap, debunks myths, and provides practical tips for better sleep in every phase of life.
Women sleep longer than men, but the quality of Sleep is worse among them. This is also referred to as sleep efficiency: Female deep sleep is less restorative than male deep sleep, and women suffer more often from sleep disorders. This gap in sleep efficiency is so noticeable that, in reference to the term Gender Pay Gap it is referred to as Gender Sleep Gap .
The female sex hormones estrogen and progesterone, which are present in different amounts in the body during the female cycle, accordingly affect sleep in girls and women. Premenstrually, women need 15 minutes longer to fall asleep, and during their period, women sleep an average of 30 minutes less per night.
© Lichtpix Fotografie/Xandra Herdieckerhoff
Dr. Suzann Kirschner-Brouns is a specialist in general medicine and a medical journalist.
What can be done about sleep disorders during menopause?
Sleep disorders are often the first symptoms of the onset of menopause, because in many women the progesterone level fluctuates initially. Progesterone is our so-called chill hormone, it provides relaxation and a good sleep. Later, estrogen is lacking and many women suffer from night sweats.
The cause of sleep disorders during menopause is therefore partly individual and partly dependent on the phase of menopause. In my book, I therefore consider the causes of sleep disorders during menopause in a differentiated manner and give targeted tips on what can help in the different phases of menopause.
Cortisol is our stress hormone, which activates the sympathetic nervous system on the physical level. It ensures that all bodily processes such as heartbeat and breathing are ready for defense or flight, i.e., blood pressure shoots up, pulse races, we breathe quickly. If we have too much stress, then this nervous system is not turned down and replaced by the so-called parasympathetic nervous system. This is the antagonist, it ensures, among other things, that cortisol production is reduced and we sleep well.
The best time to find out how much sleep I need is during vacation. In the first few days, get plenty of rest; depending on your level of exhaustion, you'll naturally wake up after a certain number of hours feeling rested. It doesn't matter what time you go to bed and how long you sleep in the morning; the number of hours is your individual sleep time.
Why should you go to bed before midnight?
It is not mandatory to go to bed before midnight. The important thing is to get the number of hours of sleep that are necessary. You should not sleep less than eight hours consistently; the magic threshold that should not be undercut for health reasons is seven hours of sleep.
Women and Sleep. By Dr. Suzann Kirschner-Brouns, Dumont Publishing House
How are sleep deprivation and type 2 diabetes related?
Lack of sleep promotes the risk of Type 2 Diabetes. If sleep disorders or permanent lack of sleep occur (regularly less than seven hours), the risk of insulin resistance increases. This means the cells respond less well to insulin and do not absorb sugar from the blood. The blood sugar level increases, and if this condition persists over a longer period, elevated levels of the long-term blood sugar value HbA1c can be measured in the blood of those affected.
What effects does poor sleep have on the heart?
Comparable to an engine in a car, our heart The body's circulatory system in motion. We park our car in the garage at night so the engine can cool down. The heart also needs rest periods when it doesn't have to run at full speed. If a car engine ran 24/7, it would need repairs in a short time. The same applies to the heart.
Long-term poor sleep puts the body under stress, increasing the risk of silent inflammation, cardiovascular diseases such as heart failure, heart attack, and high blood pressure.
If you wake up at the same time every night, it may be worth looking at the organ clock of traditional Chinese medicine. In this understanding, each organ is assigned a specific time; for example, if you always wake up between 3 and 5 a.m., it could indicate a problem with the lung, and it may be useful to seek clarification in a doctor's office.
Sleep trackers can be helpful in identifying sleep disorders. If a partner claims not to snore, the sleep tracker's data may provide proof. In some cases, the "black and white" result is more readily believed. On the other hand, constantly monitoring nightly vital and sleep values can worsen sleep if one overdoes the monitoring and checks the tracker every 15 minutes instead of sleeping.
What relaxation methods do you recommend for better sleep?
It's sensible not to go full throttle in the evening and to Stress runterzufahren. Dazu gehört auch, bis zwei Stunden vor dem Einschlafen nicht intensiv Sport zu treiben, weil das Herz- Kreis- System dann zu hochgefahren wird und wir einfach zu wach sind. Ich rate dazu, individuell präferierte Entspannungsmethode anzuwenden, die eine liest gerne ein gutes Buch, der andere meditiert vor dem Schlafengehen. In meinem Buch stelle ich viele gute Entspannungsmethoden vor. Dazu gehören auch Schlafrituale.
Die Einnahme von Magnesium am Abend kann sinnvoll sein, Magnesium entspannt die Muskeln und lässt uns darum entspannter schlafen. Melatonin, unser biologisches Schlafhormon, gibt es als Supplement. Die Zuführung kann ab dem 55 Lebensjahr sinnvoll sein, denn ab diesem Alter sinkt die körpereigene Melatoninproduktion natürlicherweise ab. Dadurch verstärken sich Einschlaf- und Durchschlafstörungen. In meinem Buch stelle ich die neuesten Studien zur optimalen Dosierung von Melatoninpräparaten vor.
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