Slaapperiode

Slaapperiode is a term used in Dutch-language sleep research to denote a contiguous interval of sleep that begins when a person falls asleep and ends with the return to wakefulness. In practice, it corresponds to what English-language literature calls a sleep episode or sleep bout. The word is formed from slaap (sleep) and periode (period). While slaapperiode is the standard form in contemporary Dutch, slaapperiode appears in some older texts and in certain datasets.

In sleep science, a slaapperiode may comprise one or more sleep cycles, including stages of non-rapid eye movement and rapid eye movement sleep. The duration of a slaapperiode varies widely depending on age, health, and circumstance, ranging from brief naps of a quarter-hour to the longer overnight periods that contain multiple cycles.

Measurement of slaapperiodes is common in polysomnography, actigraphy, and consumer sleep-tracking devices. Analysts segment the night into episodes to compute metrics such as total sleep time, sleep efficiency, and fragmentation. The concept helps describe sleep continuity and the distribution of sleep across a night.

Because the term is not universal in English-language sources, researchers typically translate it as sleep episode or sleep bout. See also sleep cycle, sleep architecture, and circadian rhythm.