Gender differences in sleep habits and quality and daytime sleepiness in elementary and high school teachers

Abstract

The extensive workload of teachers inside and outside the classroom may contribute to sleep problems. Such problems may occur more frequently in women due to the combination of professional demands, domestic tasks, and their relatively greater sleep needs compared to men. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the influence of gender on sleep habits and quality, and daytime sleepiness in a sample of 243 teachers (77 men and 166 women) using questionnaires. Linear regression models were used to examine the effect of gender on sleep measures; the unadjusted model considered only gender and the adjusted model considered chronotype and work characteristics as potential confounders. Bedtimes of women were significantly earlier than men during the week, but not on weekends, in the unadjusted and adjusted models. Time in bed was longer for women throughout the week and weekend in the unadjusted model. However, in the adjusted model, this statistical significance disappeared, and longer time in bed during the week was associated with teaching in one shift and for both levels of education. In addition, the female gender was associated with higher sleepiness scores compared to males in both models, and worse sleep quality in the adjusted model. Also, sleep quality was worse in subjects working in three shifts and in both types of schools (public and private). The tendency to eveningness was associated with later bedtimes and wake up times during both week days and weekends, higher irregularity of bedtimes and wake up times, and higher sleepiness scores in the adjusted model. Therefore, we suggest that female teachers do not fulfill their sleep needs and show higher levels of diurnal sleepiness and poor sleep quality that can be modulated by chronotype and some work characteristics. More studies are needed to evaluate the role of double workload on this pattern.