Mabe it's that withering look she gives you as she clatters her coffee cup or perhaps she's just plain snappy, but men have for years bemoaned the perils of early mornings with their better halves. New research has confirmed they have every right to be wary. It found that not only are women grumpier than men first thing, but also that they remain in a foul mood for longer.
A survey by The Sleep Council showed a quarter of men never wake up in a bad mood, compared to just one in seven women. And reeling from a sleepless night, caused mainly by stress and worry, 13 per cent of the so-called fairer sex will remain in a bad mood for up to four hours, compared to ten per cent of men. "Twenty-eight per cent of women as opposed to only 5 per cent of men do any housekeeping before going to work," she said.
"It also tends to be them that prepares the breakfast, spends time with the children, check their emails and attend to their beauty regime. Women far outweigh men in having a busy and packed morning. "So what do men do?
Apparently just get up and go out: 17 per cent of them spend only 10 minutes on their wake up and get out routine." The survey, published for national sleep-in day on October 29 when the clocks go back and people get an extra hour in bed, found that four in ten people believe a disturbed night is the main reason for grumpiness in the morning. But sleep secrets vary greatly between the sexes.
For 18 per cent per cent of men it's nothing a stiff drink can't fix, while 19 per cent admitted sex was the key. However, more than half of the women asked would rather tuck themselves in with a good book and 28 per cent said soaking in a hot bath sent them off to sleep. But seven per cent admitted resorting to sleeping pills to ensure a peaceful slumber.
A quarter of the 2,105 people who completed the online survey those cited general stress and worry as a reason for early morning moodiness, while 15 per cent just find it hard climbing out of a warm and comfortable bed. Those over 45 years old suffer most in the sleep starvation stakes with 44 per cent saying they never get a good night's sleep. This could be down to their teenage kids who are the moodiest of all, with 25 per cent staying so for up to four hours after waking.
Regionally, Londoners are Britain's grumpiest with nearly one in five staying crabby for between two and four hours in the morning, the survey found. Worst areas for bad sleepers are Yorkshire and the north east where only seven percent get seven nights of good sleep. In the south east, people get twice as much good sleep with 14 percent enjoying seven sound nights' sleep.
Miss Alexander said: "In London, it seems stress is the most likely cause for waking up in a bad mood, because many capital dwellers tend to be better sleepers." Londoners also exercise most in the morning to get their day off to a good start. People in the north-west are quickest at getting ready for work with more than a third doing so in under 20 minutes.
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My son, my partner and I get up in the morning at 6am and we all leave each other alone to do what we have to do. None of us are grumpy but we do try to let each other do our thing.
- Carol Beaumont, Spain
I am hell in the morning, I need an hour of peace, quiet above all harmony to enable me to wake up completely get in the right frame of mind to tackle the day. My family just leave me alone until I've had a whole cup of coffee - A Regan, Fairford, Glos
I've never been grumpy in the mornings unless somebody trods on my toes, then I'm a dragon! - Sabina Newson, Dorking, Surrey England
TV presenter Jonathan Ross launched a characteristic rant on Heather Mills McCartney today.
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