According to researchers, a good quality of sleep helps women to be more ambitious in their professional careers, which is not the case for men.
- A minimum of 7 hours of sleep a day is recommended for good recovery, according to Santé Publique France.
- Only 24% of women say they are fully satisfied with their professional situation according to an Ifop survey.
We knew that sleep had an impact on health, thanks to a new study it appears that it also influences professional life…. But for women only!
Indeed, according to Washington State University researchers (WSU), when women had a good night’s sleep and their mood was positive, they would be more motivated to take on more responsibility at work, which is not the case for men.
Poor sleep hinders women’s motivation
The researchers arrived at this result during a two-week survey of 135 workers in the United States. Each day, participants were asked to rate the quality of their sleep and their current mood, then, later in the day, how they felt about striving for more responsibility at work and higher social status. raised.
Based on the 2,200 observations collected, there was no gender difference in reported sleep quality. However, women were generally less motivated by their professional careers the days following poor nights’ sleep.
For the moment, the researchers are unable to explain why the quality of sleep affects women more than men in the professional field. Nonetheless, they hypothesize that it may be related to gender differences in emotion regulation, as well as societal expectations.
“Stereotypes that men are more ambitious than women likely increase the pressure on them to climb the corporate ladder, so poor sleep quality might be less likely to deter men from their professional aspirations”, write the authors.
Likewise, neuroscience research showed that women tend to have greater emotional reactivity and poorer emotion regulation than men, which may be reinforced by cultural stereotypes that women are more emotional.
Relaxation practices lead to better sleep
“It is important to be able to relate aspirations to something that is happening outside the work environment and that is controllableconcludes Leah Sheppard, lead author of the study, who believes that these results are good news for women who want to progress in their careers. There are many things everyone can do to get a better night’s sleep and regulate mood in general.”.
Meditation, practicing regular physical activity, light meal in the evening… So many tips that could help women sleep better and perhaps achieve their professional goals more easily.
