I worked with someone who did this. It was the HR person. She just didn't show up one day, didn't answer her phone or door. For a solid week. After a wellness check by the police, it was revealed that she was fine, just couldn't go back in to work because she hated her job so much.
I was young, and it was a shitty grocery chain filled with shitty management and shitty customers. I 100% thought she had killed herself, or skipped town for some other awful reason. It was a relief to hear she was OK. Fuck that store.
Definitely not gender-restricted. I think every guy I've ever dated has poked/shaken/bothered me awake just to ask in a loud whisper "pssst hey are you sleeping??" and when I'd say yes, I was sleeping, they'd be like "okay you should probably keep sleeping" or something like that.
One guy would find that I wasn't in bed anymore (he snored) and then come to the couch, poke me to ask if I was sleeping on the couch, and then ultimately climb into the couch with me to then snore some more!
Looking back it is very endearing, but I've never considered hurting someone I love as much as I did in those instances.