Most Americans say they have trouble falling asleep at night, while many of us conk out within a couple of minutes.
How fast you fall asleep can tell a lot about your health, according to experts. So, what timeframe is considered just right?
Well, people should generally fall asleep within 10-20 minutes, Michelle Drerup, a behavioral sleep medicine specialist at the Cleveland Clinic, said in a statement Tuesday.
Although that varies from person to person, too.
“Faster isn’t necessarily better, because if you’re falling asleep within a minute, it may suggest sleep deprivation or an underlying sleep issue,” she explained.
Falling asleep too fast could be a sign that you’re not getting enough and the body is fatigued.
Most Americans aren’t getting the recommended seven to nine hours a night for optimal health.
Some ways to tell are if you’re drowsy during the day, lack focus, have slow physical responses and suffer frequent mood swings, the clinic notes.
“In the long term, chronic sleep deprivation may lead to a host of health problems including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even early mortality,” Harvard Medical School cautions.
But falling asleep slowly can also be a bad sign for your overall health.
That can mean you’re one of 25 to 30 million Americans experts say have insomnia.
Insomnia is a sleep disorder that’s usually caused by stress, but chronic insomnia can be related to chronic health conditions, such as breathing, gastrointestinal or neurological disorders, UCLA Health says.
“People may have restless leg syndrome at night that may contribute to insomnia. They may have sleep apnea that can contribute to insomnia. They may have a nightmare disorder. They may have anxiety or depression,” Dr. Khaled Almadhoun, a sleep medicine physician at Henry Ford Health, told the American Medical Association, noting that “people who do have depression typically have about a two to three times more likelihood of insomnia.”
Older people, who are more likely to have chronic health problems, have more sleep problems. So do women, thanks to their hormones, according to Michigan Medicine.
Over time, insomnia can raise the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There are steps people can take to improve their sleep quality – but they may not be a quick fix.
Avoiding screen time at least 30 minutes before bed can help the brain relax, keep the room cool and dark can also limit sleep-robbing distractions and maintaining a sleep schedule can tell your body it’s time for shut-eye, the Clinic says.
If you have trouble falling asleep for at least three nights a week for three months, you may have chronic insomnia.
“At that point, it’s best to talk to a doctor to figure out why it’s happening,” said Drerup.
“Look at sleep as an investment,” she added. “It makes such a big difference in your daily life and overall health. You really can’t afford to skimp on sleep or ignore signs that you’re not getting enough of it.”
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