When you think about the differences between men and women, it's often presumed the male species wins at map reading, navigating and driving due to a better sense of direction. Females quite rightly continue to argue this is unfair, but it's now actually been proven it could be true. New research highlighted by Mail Online saw men top women when it came to finding their way to a set location.

When both genders were tasked with finding their way out of a virtual maze, the men escaped quicker and solved 50 per cent more challenges than the women during their journey.

However, ladies can feel safe in the knowledge that their eyesight is overall better than men's, as eight per cent of males are colour-blind, compared to 0.5 per cent of females. This is because women have two copies of the X-chromosome, which holds genes linked to light-sensitive proteins. When one isn't working well, the backup chromosome can take over.

This links to a US study in 2012, which found women are better at distinguishing the difference between subtle shades of blue, yellow and red - all known as the primary colours.

Dr Anne Moir, a leading neuropsychologist and co-author of Brain Sex, explains how women use their eyes differently to the opposite sex.

"She has better peripheral vision and sees more detail, while he has better distance-judging vision," she told Mail Online.

It's thought this trait derives from the period when males would hunt and gather food, tracking sudden movements along the way, while females paid more attention to their daily chores such as cooking and nurturing. On top of this, females have more cones and rods - light-receiving cells in the eye - in their eyes to improve their vision.

Dr Moir also highlights that women do actually have a softer touch than men, with female sensitivity being up to twice more than men's. A 2009 study revealed people with small fingers have closer-spaced sensory receptors, which makes them more reactive to touch.

"Women's senses in general are more acute," the health expert notes. "The female is neurologically primed to be careful."

But men needn't feel defeated yet, as they have a higher pain threshold than women. However, rather than being scientifically proven, Leeds University put this down to cultural expectations, as people assume men are more macho and tolerant of pain than women.

"Traditionally, high levels of stoicism are associated with men and high levels of sensitivity are associated with women," pain scientist Dr Osama Tashani, who led the study, explained of his previous findings.

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