Everything You Need To Know About This Sleep Latency

Everything You Need To Know About This Sleep Latency

Sleep Latency – Did you know that the time it takes for you to fall asleep can indicate how healthy your sleep cycle is? It can also suggest whether you get sufficient sleep time and if you’re suffering from sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, insomnia or narcolepsy.

Ideally, sleep should not take too long to happen once a person turns the lights off. However, some people, especially those who have a hard time falling asleep, may find sleep to be elusive. In scientific terms, sleep latency, also known as sleep onset latency or SOL, is the duration of time it takes for a person to fall asleep and transition into the sleep stages. Sleep latency is a critical factor to consider in conducting a nap study since a person’s level of sleepiness can show changes in their circadian rhythm on the EEG

Sleep latency is significant because it indicates whether an individual has good sleep efficiency. If you can fall asleep when you lie in bed and stay asleep for the duration of the night without taking any sleep medicine, then your ability to get a restful sleep is optimal. However, for people who have trouble falling asleep and for those who experience sleep disturbances throughout the night, a low sleep efficiency is likely to blame, and can often result in sleep debt.

According to experts, the ideal sleep latency time is between 15-20 minutes. Falling asleep too fast can be an indication of sleep deprivation and in some instances when coupled with snoring, sleep apnea. Depression is also linked to very short sleep latency. Falling asleep too long, on the other hand, can cause prolonged wakefulness and insomnia .

A person’s total sleep is divided into two stages of sleep: the REM or rapid eye movement stage and the NREM or non-rapid eye movement stage. The rapid eye movement stage is where dreaming occurs. During the non-rapid eye movement stage, the muscles relax, the heart rate decreases and deep sleep occurs. Healthy sleep latency is vital in achieving all four stages in one sleep cycle. While the required total sleep time may vary from person to person, getting a full night’s rest is important for all bodies to recharge and recuperate.