Background/Significance: Poor and insufficient sleep is associated with adverse health outcomes and recent research suggests women need more sleep for overall wellness compared to men. However, research on gender differences in sleep while incarcerated is limited despite the unique challenges women face while incarcerated.

Objective/Purpose: We aimed to assess gender differences in sleep duration and patterns while incarcerated.

Methods: Individuals incarcerated in a county jail were recruited to complete a four-day time use diary, documenting daily activities in 10-minute increments. We estimated average daily time spent in total, daytime, and nighttime sleep. Differences in sleep by gender and job assignment status (yes/no) were assessed using t-tests.

Results: Sixty-four participants reported an average of 608 minutes (10.1 hours) of sleep daily. Participants reported an average of 242 minutes (4.0 hours) of sleep during the day and 366 minutes (6.1 hours) at night during lockdown hours. There were no statistically significant differences by gender. Women with a job assignment reported 167 minutes (2.8 hours) of sleep less compared to women without a job assignment (492 vs. 659 minutes, respectively, p<0.001).

Discussion/Conclusions: Men and women reported inadequate nighttime sleep with significant sleep during the day. Uniformity of schedules likely contributed to the lack of gender differences in sleep patterns. However, women with job assignments had significantly less daytime sleep compared to women without a job assignment, appreciably reducing overall sleep. Our findings highlight the need for further research on sleep patterns and the factors influencing them among women incarcerated in jail.