Women may need sleep to maintain their health, according to new findings.
A study conducted at Warwick University, UK, found worrying signs that women need the recommended eight hours sleep a night.
The researchers found no indication that male health is at risk in the same way.
The study, reported in the journal Sleep, involved more than 4,600 people, all of European descent. Some 73 per cent were men.
The researchers said they found evidence that women who do not get enough sleep have raised levels of chemicals linked to inflammation – and very high levels in women who slept for five hours or less a night.
The main finding was that a chemical called IL-6 – interleukin-6 – was much lower in women who have eight hours sleep a night than those who have seven hours.
The researchers led by Dr Michelle Miller say that more studies are needed to pin down the links between sleep and inflammation. It might be possible that women who sleep less than others do so because of mental stress.
She said: "Further prospective studies are required to ascertain causality but the results also are consistent with the idea that sleeping seven or eight hours per night appears to be optimal for health."
She added: "Our study may provide some insight into a potential mechanism for the observation in previous studies which indicates an increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease in individuals who have less than five hours sleep per night and increased risk of non-cardiovascular death in long sleepers."
The British Heart Foundation said the findings reinforce the need to get enough sleep.
June Davison, a BHF cardiac nurse, said: "Previous research suggests that a good night’s sleep may help to keep our heart and circulation healthy, and this study could point to an underlying reason behind that finding.
"We should all try to get enough sleep – as it’s likely to be good for heart health as well as overall health."
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