Introduction

Health differences between men and women exist, but their causes for being are
debatable. Multiple studies have found that women are more likely than men to have insomnia
(Zhang & Wing, 2006). This finding evokes the question of whether men and women perceive
sleep experiences, processes, and consequences differently due to how they are socialized in
respect to health and well-being. On self-evaluations, women noted psychological factors as the
number one reason for sleep deficiencies while men noted work-related reasons as the primary
reason for their lack of sleep (Linberg et al., 1997). One small-n study of older adults found that
men were more accurate in assessing how they subjectively slept than women (Vitiello et al.,
2004). These findings draw attention to the possibility that women may experience greater sleep
problems than men due to societal expectations of women rather than because of biological
reasons. Importantly, there might therefore be gender differences in expectancies and beliefs
about sleep.
The Psychosocial Theory
Cognitive constructions that may potentially influence sleep involve societys
overemphasis on physical differences between men and women. Verbrugge (1985) points out
that society gives a lot of attention to the female body, especially during puberty. Traditionally,
men were assumed to be stronger due to their body. Accordingly, masculinity carries strong
characteristics while femininity carries soft characteristics. Verbrugge (1985) proposes that the
reason women are more aware of bodily discomforts than men may be due to these gender roles
which deem it not masculine to be ill.
In a finding which confirmed that men tend to externalize disorders while women tend to
internalize disorders, Needham et al. (2010) proposed that these tendencies may originate from

the traditional sexual division of labor, when men carried out the stronger tasks and worked
outside the home while women took on the softer, more caring roles and worked in the home.
This division of labor may also explain why men are more likely than women to engage in
health-risking behaviors (Courtenay et al. 2002; Needham et al., 2010).
In support of the psychosocial theory, Bird and Fremont (1991) found that men and
women did not differ in how they self-report on their health if both genders shared the same
social roles. They found in their study that a greater time spent in housework, child care, and less
time in sleep led to worse health while more time in paid work, active leisure, and sleep
improved health. In another self-assessment, when the number of chronic conditions per
participant was controlled for, men and women ranked the same on how they perceived their
health (Malmusi et al. 2011).
Subjective Sleep
Can people experience health problems because they perceive they are unhealthy? Some
studies affirm that yes, negative perception can be a mediator for behaviors which lead to health
problems. Bei et al. (2010) found that participants who rated themselves as having poor
subjective nighttime sleep experienced greater psychological disturbances during and after sleep.
The researchers suggested a relationship between subjective stress, frustration, and the
perception of poor sleep (Bei et al., 2010). Another study among 2040 year-old women which
controlled for night-time work shifts, menstrual cycles, and the use of oral contraceptives found
that employment, age, and perceived stress were all correlated with subjective sleep quality.
Morin (1993) found that older adults with chronic insomnia had stronger dysfunctional
cognitions and attitudes about sleep compared to people who labeled themselves as healthy
sleepers. Additionally, Morin et al. (2002) found that chronic insomnia patients who received

cognitive-based therapy perceived their sleep more accurately over time, enabling them to
subjectively assess their sleep more positively. According to Morin (1993), the subjective aspect
of sleep is important because untreated insomniacs remain ill by overestimating the severity of
their insomnia and underestimating their sleep duration.
Health Orientation Scale
Health orientation scales have measured how inclined people are toward optimal health
based on their attitudes, beliefs, and self-reported behaviors. Snell et al. (1991) created a health
orientation scale which identifies ones inclination toward optimal health by measuring ones
response within the following 10 sub-scales: personal health consciousness, health image
concern, health anxiety, health-esteem confidence, motivation to avoid unhealthiness, motivation
toward healthiness, internal health control, external health control, health expectations, and
health status.
Past research revealed that there are age differences and gender differences in regard to
how people respond to the health orientation scale (Snell et al., 1991). In respect to age,
participants in the 25 years and younger category were most concerned with their health image
and ranked highest in health anxiety than adults in the 25-39 year-old and 40 and above year-old
ranges. Adults who were 40 and above were the least motivated to be healthy. In terms of
gender, men scored higher than women on the perception of internal health control. For the rest
of the sub-scales, there were no significant gender differences. While the health orientation scale
generalizes about perceived health, more scales which explore specific aspects of health like the
facets of sleep are needed to break down the many functions which go into the broad realm of
health.
Sleep Orientation Scale

This study proposes a new method for investigating perceptions of sleep by looking at
ones values and reasons for achieving optimal sleep. While previous research focused on
assessments of normal and dysfunctional sleep, this study explores underlying attitudes toward
sleep.
Based on the psychosocial theory, it is hypothesized that men and women will differ in
their perceptions of sleep. Based on gender stereotypes, this study proposes that women will rank
higher than men on the sleep consciousness scale, the social aspect of sleep scale, the sleep
anxiety scale, the external control of sleep scale, motivation to avoid poor sleep, motivation to
achieve optimal sleep, and the sleep expectations scale. Due to higher demands and expectations
placed upon women, it is hypothesized that women will score lower on the sleep confidence
scale, the internal control of sleep scale, and the sleep status scale. The results of this study serve
as a useful building block for studies analyzing the role of perception in sleep. This study can
provide greater insight into future sleep studies which look to identify and correct for
maladaptive cognitive beliefs and behaviors related to sleep.
Methods
Participants
This study sampled 36 undergraduate American University students who were between
18 to 24 years old. 20 participants identified themselves as men, 15 identified themselves as
women, and 1 participant preferred not to identify their gender. The study sampled 22
Caucasians and 13 non-Caucasians. Participants were recruited through Facebook, email, and inperson interactions at the American University Bender Library and the Mary Graydon Center.
There was no compensation given for participation in the study and no social pressure to
participate. Informed consent was obtained online from each participant.