What term describes the amount of time it takes to fall asleep?

The term that specifically refers to the amount of time it takes to fall asleep is sleep latency. This concept is crucial in understanding sleep patterns and assessing sleep quality. Sleep latency is typically measured from the moment a person attempts to fall asleep until they reach the first stage of sleep. A shorter sleep latency indicates that an individual can fall asleep quickly, which is generally a sign of good sleep health, while a longer sleep latency may suggest issues such as insomnia or anxiety.

Other terms, such as sleep fragmentation, refer to disturbances in sleep that disrupt the sleep cycle but do not describe the time taken to initiate sleep. Sleep distress encompasses feelings of discomfort or anxiety related to sleep, while sleep deprivation indicates a lack of sufficient sleep over a period rather than the process of falling asleep itself. Each of these terms has distinct definitions that do not align with the timing aspect that sleep latency captures.