Expert reveals truth about how long it should take you to fall asleep at night

A sleep doctor has revealed the truth about how long it should really take us to fall asleep at night.

Of course, the time it takes us to nod off can often vary depending on a whole host of factors.

For example, if you've been awake for way longer than usual, or if you've had a particularly long and strenuous day, chances are you're going to fall asleep more quickly.

And of course, there are factors that can make nodding off more difficult - for example, certain medical conditions like insomnia or restless leg syndrome.

But as a general rule, experts think they know the average time it should take someone to drift off and what it means if you're actually falling asleep more quickly.

How should it take to fall asleep at night?

Discussing 'military sleep methods' on TikTok, @thesleepdoctor - AKA Dr Michael Breus - explained that he's not really keen on hacks that promise to help you fall asleep in a matter of minutes.

"One of the things that I'm not a fan of is the idea that you have to fall asleep within two minutes," he said.

"To be clear, that really isn't how sleep works.

"As a general guideline we know it should take somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes to fall asleep, we've learned this from sleep laboratories, studies in the field, things like that.

"When people fall asleep this quickly, usually it means that they're sleep deprived. So if you are finding yourself falling asleep in two to three minutes, you probably need to get more sleep."

People were divided in the comments, with one person writing: "If only. What about 2-3 hours?"

Another added: "I fall asleep in like 30 seconds."

Others said it takes them way longer than 10-15 minutes, despite feeling as though they're sleep deprived.

While a third commented: "I’m very sleep deprived and it takes 2-3 hours to fall asleep."

Dr Breus recently spoke about the biggest change that happens to sleep patterns during our twenties, explaining that we become less able to tolerate late nights.

"The most common sleep related change that happens during our first decade of adulthood is there is less of a tolerance for very late nights," he explained.

"That shift happens with the onset of puberty and lasts until sometime in our mid-twenties.

"... Most people in their twenties have the discretionary time and freedom to get the sleep they need but their social schedules just don't allow for it."