Do Girls Sleep Better at Night Than Boys?

Having a sleepless night, your mind starts to wonder and you asking yourself a question - Do girls sleep better at night than boys?

I’m glad you asked this question, because I was wondering the same thing!

If we measure the “quality” of sleep based on duration, the science has strong evidence that girls tend to sleep longer than boys—by approximately 10 minutes (enjoy your lengthy sleep parents of a girl...). However, sleeping longer doesn’t equal sleeping better, even though you might want a simple long sleep by now. So, I suggest looking into this from other perspectives.

When assessing sleep quality based on its depth, boys come out ahead. They often sleep soundly, even in uncomfortable positions, with light in their faces and music blaring—just completely immersed in sleep. On the other hand, if we consider the frequency of night awakenings, girls would have a slight advantage. Not because they wake up less frequently, the frequency is the same between the boys and the girls, but because most girls learn to self-soothe and return to sleep slightly earlier than boys, becoming adept at it. But I must mention that my daughter was not part of that “most girls” group and she needed help to learn how to self-soothe.

As a sleep consultant for the past two years (wow, it’s already been 2 years…), I’ve observed slightly more girls than boys seeking assistance. Which makes it even harder to get a clear answer now.

So, let’s try to sum up, who sleeps better overall—girls or boys? Honestly, I can confidently say that neither group has a clear advantage.

The majority of infants struggle with sleep initially, but they eventually learn to sleep through the night. However sometimes that “eventually” can take a long time, testing parents patience (and sanity), suggesting that they may benefit from some form of sleep training.

I hope that answers your question, but if you have more questions, please feel free to reach out!