{"id":112068,"date":"2025-07-25T13:02:20","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T13:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/?post_type=news&#038;p=112068"},"modified":"2025-07-25T13:02:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T13:02:20","slug":"stress-and-sleep-quality-do-you-wake-up-feeling-fresh-or-groggy-it-depends-on-your-gender","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/stress-and-sleep-quality-do-you-wake-up-feeling-fresh-or-groggy-it-depends-on-your-gender\/","title":{"rendered":"Stress and sleep quality: Do you wake up feeling fresh or groggy? It depends on your gender"},"content":{"rendered":"<h5 class=\"article_desc\">Sleep affects how you handle stress, and recent research shows this impact differs by gender. While deep sleep can boost resilience in men, it may increase vulnerability in women. Here\u2019s why.<\/h5>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"contentdata\" class=\"content_wrapper arti-flow\">\n<p>Sleep is often said to be the ultimate remedy for physical and mental exhaustion, but what if it\u2019s more than that? Recent research into stress and sleep suggests that the way you sleep might not only affect how you recover from stress, but also how resilient you are to it in the first place.<\/p>\n<p>Surprisingly, this relationship between\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.moneycontrol.com\/health-and-fitness\/stress-and-sleep-loss-7-signs-your-body-is-not-getting-enough-rest-article-12718346.html\" rel=\"dofollow\"><strong>sleep and stress<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>appears to be different for women and men.<br \/>\nUnderstanding how we respond to stress is becoming more important than ever. While some people seem to bounce back after stressful experiences, others struggle for much longer. Scientists believe sleep could be one of the reasons.<\/p>\n<div class=\"hide-moblie mid-arti-ad\"><\/div>\n<p>According to a research published in\u00a0<em>Neuropsychopharmacology<\/em>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.moneycontrol.com\/health-and-fitness\/improve-your-sleep-naturally-keep-a-consistent-schedule-limit-caffeine-and-other-tips-for-deep-sleep-article-12884641.html\" rel=\"dofollow\"><strong>deep sleep<\/strong><\/a>, particularly non-REM (Non rapid eye movement, or NREM) sleep, may actively protect the brain against stress, but the benefits appear to differ between sexes. In the study, male mice with better-quality NREM sleep showed greater resilience, while females who had more NREM sleep after stress were actually more likely to suffer negative effects. These findings suggest that your biology may influence how sleep supports your mental health.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Signs that your sleep may be affecting your stress levels<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>You feel worse after sleeping in:<\/strong>\u00a0It might sound counterintuitive, but if more sleep leaves you feeling foggy or anxious, it could be a sign your sleep isn&#8217;t truly restorative, more so if you&#8217;re female. Quality over quantity is key.<\/li>\n<li><strong>You struggle to bounce back from challenges:<\/strong>\u00a0If every stressful event knocks you sideways for days, poor sleep, especially disrupted deep sleep, might be reducing your resilience.<\/li>\n<li><strong>You\u2019re more irritable or emotionally sensitive:<\/strong>\u00a0Lack of NREM sleep has been linked with mood changes. If you find yourself reacting more emotionally than usual, your sleep may be to blame.<\/li>\n<li><strong>You wake up frequently during the night:<\/strong>\u00a0Fragmented sleep, especially during the first half of the night, may prevent your brain from reaching the deep sleep states necessary for emotional recovery.<\/li>\n<li><strong>You need naps to get through the day:<\/strong>\u00a0Feeling the need to nap often could be your body\u2019s way of making up for poor-quality sleep at night, which may in turn affect how you cope with daily stress.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em><strong>Disclaimer: This article, including health and fitness advice, only provides generic information. Don\u2019t treat it as a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist for specific health diagnosis.<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"content_block\">By Namita S Kalla is a senior journalist who writes about different aspects of modern life that include lifestyle, health, fashion, beauty, and entertainment.<\/div>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/www.moneycontrol.com\/health-and-fitness\/stress-and-sleep-quality-do-you-wake-up-feeling-fresh-or-groggy-it-depends-on-your-gender-article-13031860.html\">Original Post<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>Image by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/users\/elf-moondance-19728901\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=8691028\">Moondance<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=8691028\">Pixabay<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sleep affects how you handle stress, and recent research shows this impact differs by gender. While deep sleep can boost resilience in men, it may increase vulnerability in women. Here\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":112070,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"pmpro_default_level":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false},"categories":[12,142,15,156],"tags":[136,137,157,158,147],"class_list":["post-112068","news","type-news","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adult-stress","category-health","category-mental-health","category-sleep","tag-ais","tag-american-institute-of-stress","tag-sleep","tag-sleeplessness","tag-stress-management","pmpro-has-access"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Stress and sleep quality: Do you wake up feeling fresh or groggy? 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