Having difficulty falling asleep every now and then is pretty common. At some point, everyone’s experienced tossing and turning for what seems like hours before finally drifting off. There are just some nights in which sleep doesn’t come so easily.
Experts say the average amount of time it takes an adult to fall asleep after the lights have been turned off — a period of time they call sleep latency — is about 10 to 20 minutes. This usually varies from one individual to another, affected by many factors such as age or number of naps during the day. But taking an exceptionally long time to fall asleep at night may result in a shorter sleep duration, which can eventually cause daytime fatigue, slower reaction time and impaired focus.
We know it’s hard to turn the brain off sometimes. If it takes you forever to fall asleep at night, here are some science-backed strategies you can try to get that well-deserved shuteye.
