Paradox: Women Sleep Objectively Better Yet Perceive It Poorly
TL;DR Summary
A Swedish study of 476 adults (238 women, 238 men, ages 29–85) found that women objectively sleep better—fewer awakenings, longer total sleep, higher sleep efficiency, more deep sleep—yet they rate their sleep quality as poorer than men, who tend to underestimate their awakenings. The difference in self-reported sleep quality grows with age, though excluding men with very brief awakenings removes the gap. A limitation is the single-night measurement. Funded by Swedish foundations; published in Sleep Advances (2026).
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