Don’t Rush Off to Sleep Despite popular belief, falling asleep moments after hitting the pillow doesn't mean you’re getting a good night of rest.
When you find yourself lying awake in bed, staring mindlessly at the ceiling, 20 minutes after crawling into bed, it's easy to feel frustrated. After all, you’ve likely been told that if you don’t drift off as quickly as possible you have a serious sleep problem on your hands.
But falling asleep fast doesn’t automatically make you a “good sleeper,” says Chris Winter, M.D., a neurologist, sleep specialist, and host of the Sleep Unplugged podcast. Here’s why.
The Problem with Linking Sleep Latency with Sleep Quality
Essentially, sleep latency — the amount of time it takes you to reach any stage of sleep once the lights go out — completely ignores the quality of your ZZZs, which matters much more for your health, says Winter. Similar to how eating fast doesn’t mean you’re eating healthfully, falling asleep moments after hitting the pillow doesn’t mean you’re getting high-quality sleep, he explains.
In general, healthy sleep is good quality and regular, occurs at the appropriate time, is absent of sleep disorders, and lasts an adequate amount of time, according to information published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (JCSM). Research shows that sleep quality is the strongest predictor of depressive symptoms and well-being, and adequate quality and quantity both play a role in reducing the risk of accidents and injuries caused by sleepiness and fatigue, per the JCSM.
Having poor-quality sleep or not getting enough sleep the night before can reduce your sleep latency. Stress, comfort, and medications can also influence how fast you drift off, but people who frequently fall asleep quickly are typically either sleep-deprived or suffering from dysfunctional sleep, he notes. “We envy those individuals who can fall asleep immediately, but this is a big red flag to a sleep specialist,” he adds.
What’s more, studies suggest most people do not accurately determine their own sleep latency, says Winter. “Many insomnia sufferers radically overestimate the time it takes to fall asleep,” he says. “In other words, they often fall asleep quickly but feel like it takes them hours if they sleep at all.” All that’s to say, self-reported sleep latency is not only an inaccurate but also ineffective way to determine if you’re sleeping well.
The Bottom Line
Using the amount of time it takes you to fall asleep to find out whether you’re a “good” or “bad” sleeper simply isn’t worthwhile. “It's like a teacher praising students for turning their tests in quickly but disregarding the accuracy of their answers,” says Winter.
Instead, you need to consider other aspects of your sleep, including duration, regularity, and quality. Ask yourself: Do you struggle to stay awake? Is napping irresistible? Do you feel sleepy even after you get enough sleep? Your answers will paint a more accurate picture of your overall sleep health than your latency alone.
And remember, sometimes, you simply won’t feel ready to sleep when you get into bed — and that’s okay, says Winter. “[The idea of needing to fall asleep fast] often is a symptom of believing that we have more control over our sleep than we really do and that losing out on sleep opportunities is a problem that must be addressed,” he explains. “It's impossible to ‘not sleep,’ so why make this a focus of concern? People are not hungry for lunch sometimes and nobody thinks anything of it.”