With society’s increased pressures and demands, almost everyone is feeling fatigued. How this affects the particular sexes, though, is a source of debate.

Women often have a more difficult time getting good sleep than men. In contemporary society, particularly among women who work outside of the home and raise children, the effects can be quite pronounced.

Out of any given group of working women, as many as half may routinely experience a sudden awakening, in the wee hours of the night. Among the many reasons women may have sleep related problems, include the following:

• Women usually spend more hours on domestic tasks in addition to occupations outside the home.
• Society’s expectations regarding their appearance prompts them to spend more time getting dressed, groomed, etc.
• Historically, women have had lower levels of income, which means they have to work longer and harder to achieve the same level of income as men. Thus they have a difficult time meeting household expenses, and are more prone to fatigue.
• Women in many households value and sustain the family’s social contacts. The added responsibility in time, say, talking to friends and relatives, shopping for gifts, and cooking, all can take their toll.
• Many women are involved in their children’s education: attending PTA meetings, participating in school events, reading to the child at night, and so forth.

Among my female friends, there is the observation that a growing social pressure to be a good parent bears mostly on the mother. It’s almost as if you’re a bad mother if you don’t sign up for the bake sale, the thrift drive, the school picnic, and the annual field trip.

While traditionally men took care of the economic health of the family, women looked after the emotional and sometimes the economics. Today, as more women share or assume the full economic role, they may find themselves as sole caretakers of the emotional and spiritual well being of family members. All of the above ultimately impacts the amount and quality of women’s sleep.

Pressures on Women

• 63% of women with children work outside the home.
• 50% of working women return to work within a year of having a baby. 30% more return to work after more than a year.
• 90% of elderly defendants are cared for directly by their families. 67% of the primary care givers are working women.
• An increasing number of women who work do not have the time to advance their careers because of dual home and family responsibilities.
• By the year 2000, three-fifths of all women over age 16 will work outside the home.

Sources: Panel Publishers, and The Women’s’ Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor.

By some estimates, even in these supposedly enlightened times, women still do about 80% of all work associated with housekeeping and raising the children. Many of these women nary have a moment for themselves all day, and by the time they get to bed, they are exhausted.

You’d think that would be a scenario for deep sleep. Unfortunately, it’s not. As you probably know, the more wired and agitated you are mentally throughout the day, the less likely you are to sleep through the entire night.

Women certainly are not the only ones with tremendous demands on their day, which impact their night. You could say that men have it pretty tough, too.

A Man’s World?

Within the last decade, an increasing number of men have found themselves candidates for exhaustion. After all, trying to be a good father, responsive husband, champion bread winner, enlightened manager, on-call handyman, and pillar of the community takes its toll. Consider too, these little bonus tasks:

• Men still do most of the driving on family trips, particularly long trips.
• Men spend more time working around the yard.
• Men spend more time working on family finances and in particular, income taxes.
• Men are more likely to be little league coaches, officers of social, civic, and charitable organizations, and volunteer fire fighters.
• Some men are part of the National Guard

The gap in life expectancy between men and women in America today is an astounding 7 years. Lest you believe this is attributed to genetics, guess again. In 1920, the gap between the expected life spans of men and women was only one year.

Many men face increasing responsibilities at work, and far more men face potential health hazards on the job than women. In general, hazardous occupations are virtually men’s domains. Also, men are far more likely to die on the job than in war.

When it comes to feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, men are afflicted:

Hey Mister, How Are You Feeling Today?

Whether you’re a woman or a man, there are many factors contributing to the feeling of fatigue on the part of both sexes.