Does this sound familiar? You lie in bed, waiting for sleep to come. After tossing and turning for what seems like an eternity, you ask yourself, should I give up and get out of bed, or am I overreacting? How long am I supposed to lie here?

We all suffer from the odd sleepless night, but how long should it take to fall asleep once you get snuggled up in bed?

According to the National Sleep Foundation, it’s normal to take between 10-20 minutes to fall asleep once you get under the covers. It takes about seven minutes to reach a state where alpha waves dominate and you achieve that blissful state between sleeping and waking. This is the dreamlike, hazy, and peaceful stage of sleep that sometimes comes with hallucinations. You remain in this in-between state for five or so minutes, and then theta waves take over and you transition into the first stage of full sleep. This brings the total transition from awake to asleep to somewhere around 15 minutes.

If it routinely takes you less than five or more than 20 minutes to fall asleep, your body is trying to tell you something. But what?

If you fall asleep straight away

If you nod off as soon as your head hits the pillow, it can be a sign you’re not getting enough sleep, or your body may be telling you you’re coming down with, or recovering from some kind of bug. 

If you fall asleep straight away but wake frequently, or feel exhausted when you wake up, it could point to sleep apnoea. It’s a common disorder in which you have one or more pauses in breathing while you sleep. Breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to minutes. They may occur 30 times or more an hour. Typically, normal breathing then starts again, sometimes with a loud snort or choking sound.

Fragmented sleep may also point to narcolepsy, a rare long-term brain disorder that causes a person to suddenly fall asleep at inappropriate times.

If it takes more than an hour to fall asleep

If it takes you a long time to fall asleep, you may be struggling with what’s called sleep onset insomnia. This describes the transition from wakefulness to sleep and is really a fancy way of saying there’s a big load of worry keeping you from powering down. Either your brain won’t turn off, you’ve had too much caffeine, or your internal clock is out of whack for whatever reason.

So, when should you go to bed to ensure the best possible night’s sleep?

Believe it or not, there’s a ‘sleep calculator‘ to help you work it out. The calculator works on the principle that everyone sleeps in about five or six cycles which last roughly 90 minutes. Waking up midway through a cycle can leave you feeling grumpy the next day. So, the idea is to wake up in between cycles and feel refreshed.

If you need to be awake and up at 7am, according to the calculator you need to go to bed at either 9.45pm or 11.15pm. If you’re having a late night, 12.45am and 2.15am will also work.

The sleep calculator factors in the average of 15 minutes it takes people to naturally fall asleep.

If you’re concerned about the amount of time it’s taking you to nod off, here’s some advice to help:

• Banish your electrical devices from your bed: avoid using mobiles, laptops and watching TV, as these devices emit a blue light which gives the brain a false assumption that you are in plain daylight.
• Avoid strenuous activities: exercise during the day is important for maintaining a healthy and balanced lifestyle. It takes time to wind down after a workout, so time it right and don’t exercise right before bedtime.
• Watch your caffeine and alcohol intake: Too much caffeine can over-stimulate your nervous system, affecting your ability to fall asleep. While alcohol consumption may give you the impression that you sleep better, but you will actually wake up more often and sleep will be more fragmented than usual.

Have a massage

What better way to help you get sleepy than a relaxing massage? Call Castle Thai Spa to book yours today on 0131 629 0794.