India’s Women and the Sleep Crisis
Have you ever noticed the dark circles under a woman’s eyes and wondered when she last slept well? In India, this is a common observation, and, unfortunately, the answer is often: not well at all. A new study highlights the problem, painting a picture of a significant sleep crisis among women.
ResMed, a global health technology leader, recently released its fifth Global Sleep Survey (India). The findings are concerning: people are losing at least three nights of restorative sleep each week. The survey’s results also highlighted a troubling disparity: women experience significantly poorer sleep quality compared to men. This difference is not just a minor inconvenience; it represents a serious challenge to the health and well-being of a large segment of the population.
The numbers speak volumes. According to the report, women average fewer nights of good sleep per week (3.83) than men (4.13). They also report greater difficulty falling asleep (38% vs. 29%), with hormonal changes, particularly menopause, being a key factor. Worldwide, 44% of menopausal women struggle to fall asleep at least three times a week, compared to 33% of non-menopausal women. The impact is also visible in the workplace: 17% of Indian women take sick leave due to poor sleep, compared to 12% of men. This is a significant strain on both individual lives and broader productivity.
So, what’s driving this sleep crisis?
One of the main contributing factors is that women often remain the primary caregivers, both for children and elderly relatives, regardless of their own professional commitments. The expectation that women will seamlessly manage both domestic chores and external employment creates an unsustainable burden. In the current economic environment, women are often encouraged to work outside the home, provided that their domestic roles are not disrupted.
This situation leads to countless women sacrificing sleep to manage the demands of both home and work. With the constant pressure of a ticking clock, sleep becomes the first casualty. The impact of this situation is very visible in the lives of working women, especially single parents. They cope with the long hours, often working all the time. Neither do they earn well enough to avail themselves of 24×7 household help, nor do they have professional daycare facilities near their workplace. “After the drudgery of a long day at work, the word ‘empowerment’ seems like a myth” a working woman mentioned.
The concept of “women’s empowerment” has been actively promoted over the last few decades, encouraging women to pursue financial independence. However, this has largely failed to address the underlying issue of unequal distribution of household responsibilities. As a result, “empowerment” has become nothing short of the exploitation of women’s labor because the measures necessary to relieve women of the burden of household chores are not put in place.
The government, too, has not focused on creating sufficient support. For example, the insufficient number of government-run creches makes working women worry about the safety and quality of care their children receive while they are at work. Sleep poverty is particularly a problem among lactating mothers. In the first few years of motherhood, sleep is a casualty. Often, the maternity leave that is sanctioned is not enough. And with the mass privatisation of jobs, maternity leave policies are becoming more regressive. Women employees in some states get CCL (Child Care Leave) for two years till their children turn 18. But every female employee knows how tough it is to get CCL approved, with a male-dominated leadership posing a significant hurdle.
While official data may not fully capture the extent of the problem, the dark circles under women’s eyes tell a clear story, and it’s time that India truly starts to value the sleep of its women.
