Men don’t actually need more sleep than women, but several biological and lifestyle factors can make them sleep longer, feel sleepier during the day, or struggle to get restorative rest. The difference often comes down to circadian biology, hormone cycles, sleep disorders that hit men harder, and habits that quietly erode sleep quality.
Men’s Internal Clocks Run Slightly Longer
Everyone’s body has a built-in clock that runs close to, but not exactly, 24 hours. Research published in PNAS found that men’s internal circadian cycle averages 24 hours and 11 minutes, while women’s averages 24 hours and 5 minutes. That six-minute gap sounds tiny, but it shifts the entire timing of sleep signals. Men’s bodies release melatonin (the hormone that triggers sleepiness) about half an hour later than women’s, which means men naturally tend to fall asleep later and wake up later.
This longer internal clock can make men appear to sleep more, especially on weekends or days off when there’s no alarm forcing them awake. Their biology is literally pushing them toward a later schedule. When that schedule clashes with early work obligations during the week, the resulting sleep debt builds up and gets “repaid” with longer sleep on free days.
How Testosterone Shapes Sleep Quality
Testosterone plays a complicated role in men’s sleep. Low testosterone, which becomes increasingly common after age 40, is linked to poorer sleep quality, more nighttime awakenings, and less time spent in the deepest phase of sleep. A cohort study of men 65 and older found that those with lower testosterone had reduced sleep efficiency and spent less time in deep sleep overall. When sleep quality drops, the body compensates by extending total sleep time, so a man with low testosterone might spend nine or ten hours in bed but still feel unrested.
Paradoxically, very high testosterone doesn’t help either. Testosterone supplementation and anabolic steroid use have been associated with reduced sleep time, insomnia, and more frequent awakenings. The sweet spot for restorative sleep appears to be a normal, stable testosterone level.
Sleep Apnea Hits Men Harder
Obstructive sleep apnea, a condition where the airway repeatedly collapses during sleep, affects roughly 22% of men compared to 17% of women. When you factor in daytime sleepiness as a symptom, about 6% of men have full-blown sleep apnea syndrome. These numbers have been climbing over time as obesity rates rise.
Sleep apnea fragments rest in a way that’s often invisible to the person experiencing it. You might not remember waking up dozens of times per night, but your brain never completes the deep sleep cycles it needs. The result is crushing daytime fatigue and a strong pull to nap or sleep longer. Many men who seem to “sleep too much” are actually getting very little quality sleep because their breathing stops and restarts throughout the night. The extra time in bed is the body’s attempt to compensate for rest that never truly restores.
Deep Sleep and Physical Recovery
Men’s bodies rely heavily on sleep for physical repair. In young men, roughly two-thirds of the day’s total growth hormone output happens during deep sleep. Growth hormone drives muscle repair, tissue recovery, and cell regeneration. Men who are physically active, whether through exercise or demanding jobs, may need more time asleep to complete this recovery cycle.
Interestingly, though, physically demanding work doesn’t always translate to more sleep. A Japanese study of daytime workers found that blue-collar men actually had the shortest sleep duration despite having the heaviest physical workload. The reason: their jobs came with earlier start times and lifestyle factors that cut into sleep opportunity. These men went to bed earliest but also woke earliest, and their heavy workloads were associated with worse sleep quality rather than better. So physical labor can increase the need for sleep while simultaneously making it harder to get enough.
Men Lose Deep Sleep Faster With Age
Sleep architecture changes for everyone over time, but men get the worse end of the deal. Deep sleep (the most physically restorative stage) decreases at a rate of about 2% per decade up to age 60. A meta-analysis of 65 studies confirmed that men are more affected by aging than women: they lose more deep sleep, spend more time in lighter sleep stages, and wake up more often during the night. Total sleep time also drops more steeply for men.
This creates a frustrating pattern. A 50-year-old man may spend the same amount of time in bed as he did at 30, but the sleep he’s getting is shallower and more fragmented. He wakes up tired, drags through the day, and may try to compensate by sleeping in or napping. From the outside, it looks like he’s sleeping a lot. From the inside, he’s running on empty.
Vitamin D and Hidden Fatigue
Vitamin D deficiency is a surprisingly common cause of excessive daytime sleepiness in men, and it often goes undiagnosed because the symptoms are vague. Low vitamin D appears to increase inflammation-related compounds in the body that raise the brain’s drive toward sleep. One well-documented case involved a 61-year-old man with persistent afternoon fatigue whose vitamin D level was 18.4 ng/mL (normal starts at 30). After supplementation, his fatigue improved within two weeks and resolved completely within three months.
Men who work indoors, live in northern climates, or have darker skin are at higher risk for deficiency. If you’re sleeping long hours and still feeling wiped out, a simple blood test can check your levels.
Depression Can Look Like Oversleeping
Depression in men frequently shows up as physical symptoms rather than the sadness people typically associate with it. Sleeping excessively, losing energy, and withdrawing from activities are common presentations. A subtype called atypical depression specifically features hypersomnia (sleeping too much) as a core symptom, along with heavy feelings in the arms and legs, increased appetite, and sensitivity to rejection.
Because men are less likely to describe their experience as “feeling depressed” and more likely to frame it as being tired or needing more rest, the underlying mood disorder can go unrecognized for years. The oversleeping isn’t laziness. It’s a neurochemical shift that makes the brain crave more sleep as a way of coping with emotional distress.
What Actually Helps
If you or someone you know seems to sleep excessively, the first step is distinguishing between spending a long time in bed and actually getting restorative sleep. These are different problems with different solutions. Someone who sleeps nine hours and wakes refreshed may simply have higher sleep needs. Someone who sleeps nine hours and still feels exhausted likely has a sleep quality issue.
Sleep apnea is the most common and most treatable culprit in men. Loud snoring, gasping during sleep, and morning headaches are the classic signs. Testosterone levels are worth checking in men over 40 who notice a gradual increase in fatigue alongside other symptoms like reduced motivation or muscle loss. Vitamin D is easy to test and inexpensive to supplement. And for men whose long sleep coincides with low mood, irritability, or loss of interest in things they used to enjoy, screening for depression can be the single most useful step.
The biological factors, like circadian timing and age-related changes in sleep architecture, aren’t fixable in the traditional sense. But understanding them helps reframe the situation. A man who naturally runs on a longer internal clock isn’t being lazy by sleeping until 8 a.m. His body is simply wired to a slightly different schedule than the person next to him.