How long does it take you to fall asleep? Five minutes, half an hour, maybe even an hour?

Most of us need around 10 to 20 minutes to drift off, but then there are some lucky sleepers who seem to be snoring the moment their head hits the pillow.

If this is you, you might consider yourself a ‘good sleeper’. While your partner lies next to you tossing and turning, you’re already in the land of nod.

But while it might seem like a great talent to have, we’ve got some bad news for you: falling asleep almost immediately isn’t the super power you think it is.

In fact, some sleep coaches on TikTok have gone as far as to label this habit an ‘ominous sign’.

Why is falling asleep too quickly a bad thing?

Omar El-Gohary, superintendent pharmacist at IQ Doctor, tells Metro that while you might think falling asleep quickly is a sign of good sleep health, it can sometimes mean the opposite.

He shares: ‘Although it may seem ideal, consistently drifting off within just a few minutes can be a sign that your body is carrying a significant sleep debt and is struggling to stay awake.’

Omar confirms that a ‘healthy adult will typically take somewhere between 10 and 20 minutes to fall asleep.’

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So, he adds, ‘if you’re regularly falling asleep almost instantly, it may suggest you’re not getting enough quality sleep, even if you’re spending enough hours in bed.’

Your body may be chronically deprived of rest, meaning it craves sleep so intensely that it almost forces you into unconsciousness the second you stop moving, slow down, and calm your nervous system.

What constitutes as ‘quality sleep’?

‘Quality sleep’ refers to an individual’s self-satisfaction with every aspect of the sleeping experience.

Most adults tend to need between seven and nine hours of sleep each night. But even if you think you’re getting ‘enough’ sleep, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting the highest quality.

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The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) has come up with four unique elements to determine whether or not someone has had a high quality sleep:

Sleep Efficiency – the ratio of time asleep to time lying in bed

Sleep Latency – how long it takes you to fall asleep

Awakenings – the number of awakenings you have during the night

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Wake After Sleep Onset –  the amount of time you are awake after first falling asleep

According to the NSF, the most accurate way to measure all four elements of your sleep quality is by combining tools such as wearable technology, devices connected to or placed near the bed, and technology that uses wireless signals to monitor sleep through sound, radar, and environmental information.

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Falling asleep quickly can be linked with sleep disorders

In some cases, the pharmacist continues, falling asleep within minutes can be linked with underlying sleep disorders.

Essentially, you fall asleep fast because the sleep you do get isn’t good enough, meaning you’re more tired than you think.

One potential disorder is obstructive sleep apnoea – which can disrupt sleep quality without a person even realising.

A very common disorder, it’s when your breathing stops and starts while you sleep – triggering gasping, choking, or chortling noises, waking up repeatedly, and extremely loud snoring.

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It can incredibly hard to tell you have obstructive sleep apnoea on your own, so if you’ve been struggling with sleep quality, it’s worth asking someone to stay with you while you sleep so they can check for the symptoms.

Omar also mentions restless legs syndrome – a form of insomnia that disrupts sleep throughout the night. And, he adds that in rarer cases, conditions such as narcolepsy can all leave people feeling excessively sleepy and cause them to drift off unusually fast when given the chance to sleep.

Narcolepsy is when the brain struggles to regulate sleep-wake cycles. This tends to present itself as extreme daytime sleepiness followed by falling asleep at any time, anywhere. What it is an incurable condition, lifestyle changes and certain medication can alleviate symptoms.

It might not be shocking to some, but the combination of ‘long working hours, late-night screen use, stress and irregular sleep schedules can all contribute to chronic sleep deprivation

So, by the time you lie down in bed at night, your body is desperate for rest. ‘As a result’, Omar notes, ‘falling asleep straight away can be a sign that your body is running on empty rather than operating optimally.’

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Of course, occasionally falling asleep very quickly after a really busy day isn’t usually a cause for concern.

However, Omar explains that if it’s happening night after night and you’re also experiencing symptoms such as ‘daytime fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritability, headaches, memory issues or needing excessive caffeine to function’, it’s worth speaking to a healthcare professional.

‘Sleep should leave you feeling refreshed, alert and energised the next day, not constantly trying to catch up.’

MORE: The lesser-known health reasons a doctor can refuse you for Mounjaro or Wegovy

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David Bullock, 59, was brought to justice decades after abusing his victim, who was attending ice skating lessons

A paedophile sexually assaulted a teenage girl at an ice skating rink where she attended lessons. She reported the assaults to the police decades later and brought her abuser to justice.

David Bullock, now 59, was in his 20s when he carried out repeated indecent assaults against his victim, who was under 16-years-old. The victim attended the National Ice Rink in Cardiff for dance ice skating lessons, in which the defendant assisted as he was “training for the Olympics”.

A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Tuesday heard Bullock would pat and rub the victim’s leg, patted her stomach and touched her bottom. Stay in the know by making sure you’re receiving our daily newsletter

The victim later told police she “blocked out” what was happening but thought to herself “this is not right”.

The defendant’s behaviour escalated to the point he was putting his hand inside the victim’s skirt. On one occasion he put his hands in the victim’s underwear and touched her vagina. He also cupped her breasts.

The victim later refused to attend the ice rink and told her mother what was happening, but the matter was not reported to the police as she was told it was “her words against Bullock’s”

In 2025, the victim reported the abuse to the police and Bullock was arrested.

He answered no comment in his police interview but did not confirm whether he attended Cardiff Ice Rink.

Bullock, of Downsview, Highworth, Swindon, later pleaded guilty to seven counts of indecent assault.

Prosecutor Martha Smith-Higgins said the defendant was convicted of possessing more than 18,000 indecent images of children after travelling to Amsterdam over a period of years to buy child abuse material and possessing images on a computer disk.

He was also found in possession of children’s clothing and underwear, which he admitted masturbating with.

In 2019, he was sentenced to 40 months imprisonment and an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the gross indecency and indecent assault of a child under 14-years-old.

In mitigation, Neil Evans said his client suffered with mental health issues as well as physical difficulties.

Sentencing, Recorder Greg Bull KC said: “A probation officer is of the view you are a danger to children. You have no proper insight into your offending, even now years later.”

Bullock was sentenced to a total of 24 months imprisonment. The defendant was also made subject to an indefinite restraining order and sex offender notification requirements for 10 years.

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Police cars and ambulances descended on the primary school after reports of a ‘medical incident’

Nine people were taken to hospital after emergency services were called to a primary school in Nottinghamshire on Wednesday (June 3). Police cars and ambulances descended on Jesse Gray Primary School in West Bridgford after receiving a call at around 2.17pm.

Full details surrounding nature of the incident has not been confirmed, however a police spokesperson confirmed it is not being treated as a crime. A medical emergency was reported.

Police and a local councillor initially reported two pupils had been taken to hospital, however East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) has now confirmed nine patients were transported to the Queen’s Medical Centre, NottinghamshireLive reports.

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“The caller reported a medical emergency. We sent a number of resources including paramedics in ambulance cars, crewed ambulances and our hazardous area response team,” a spokesperson said. “A responder from the air ambulance was also in attendance. Nine patients were transported to Queen’s Medical Centre.”

Councillor Jonathan Wheeler, who represents West Bridgford South at the county council, said he had been contacted by residents who were ‘concerned’ after spotting a large number of ambulances outside the school.

“I have spoken with the school and they have a couple of pupils who have gone to hospital for precautionary checks, the parents are aware and I won’t say more for their privacy,” he said. “Given the nature of messages sent and rumours out there the school are happy for me to post this update. Thank you.”

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — For the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks, Game 1 of the NBA Finals might feel like old times.

It’s the Knicks’ ninth time in the title series, and the eighth time they’ve played Game 1 on the road. It’s the Spurs’ seventh time in the title series, and the sixth time they’ve played Game 1 at home.

Granted, a good amount of time has passed for both teams since they’ve been on this stage: The Knicks haven’t played in the finals since losing to the Spurs in 1999, and the Spurs haven’t been there since beating the Miami Heat in 2014.

“I think we’re just locked in and focused on the task at hand,” Knicks forward Josh Hart said. “Then we can look back when everything is all said and done and really embrace this process and this run. It’s an honor, but can’t focus too much on the outside world and the run so far.”

The run the Knicks are on coming into this series is without compare: 11 straight wins by a total of 262 points, the most lopsided 11-game run — regular season or playoffs — in NBA history.

The Spurs have a different kind of streak going into Wednesday night. They’ve never lost Game 1 of the NBA Finals, going 6-0 in openers when they make the title round.

Most players on both teams are making their finals debuts in this series. Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox said it’s still going to be important for his team to remember how they got to the finals in the first place.

“This is a hard thing to do. It’s hard to get back to these places,” Fox said. “Don’t change anything that we’re doing. There’s a reason that we’re in the finals. There’s a reason that we won (62) games. There’s a reason we didn’t lose three games in a row the whole year. So, we don’t want to get to this place and then start changing the way we play.”

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

John Robert Mitchell, from Catterick Garrison, died after the collision on the A6136 Catterick Road near the junction with Colburn Lane on June 11, 2025.

Emergency services, including paramedics and the air ambulance, attended the scene, but Mr Mitchell died while being transported to hospital.

John Robert Mitchell (Image: NORTH YORKSHIRE POLICE)

A subsequent inquest opening heard that he suffered lower neck injuries. The hearing was adjourned pending the outcome of the police investigation.

North Yorkshire Police said on Wednesday (June 3) that an extensive investigation into the fatal collision has now been completed.

A force spokesperson said: “An extensive collision investigation has been completed into the tragic death of Mr Mitchell.

“It concluded that no further action will be taken against the two men who were in the military truck. They have been released without charge.

Floral tributes left at the scene of the fatal crash (Image: Stuart Boulton)

“All parties have been updated, and the matter has been passed to the Coroner.”

The driver and passenger of the military truck had previously been assisting officers with their enquiries.

The case will now return to the Coroner, who will determine the next steps and consider the circumstances surrounding Mr Mitchell’s death.

Following the collision, Mr Mitchell’s family paid tribute to him as a “much-loved husband, brother, uncle and godfather” who would be “sadly missed”.

Floral tributes left near the scene described him as a “pillar of the community”, with one mourner writing that “his love for life was contagious, and his kindness touched so many.”

In what researchers are calling a “major breakthrough”, a team, led by Prof Takashi Tsuji, say they have managed to recreate the full cycle of hair growth in mice – meaning hair could grow, fall out and grow back again naturally. While transplanted hair can already grow, recreating follicles that can behave like the natural hair inside the body – repeatedly growing, shedding and regrowing over time – has proved far more difficult.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Actor Shia LaBeouf was sentenced to probation Wednesday after pleading guilty to punching three people outside a New Orleans bar during Mardi Gras.

LaBeouf must attend an alcohol treatment program under the sentence handed down by an Orleans Parish judge, according to Sarah Chervinsky, an attorney for the actor.

LeBeouf, most widely known for his starring roles in 2007’s “Transformers” and in 2008’s “Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull,” had been released on bail following his arrest near the city’s historic French Quarter. Video of the Feb. 17 encounter shows a shirtless LaBeouf outside a bar shoving one person to the ground and hitting another person in the face, “causing his nose to possibly dislocate,” according to a New Orleans police report. Police said LaBeouf repeatedly used homophobic slurs, including while he was arrested.

LeBeouf pleaded guilty to three counts of simple battery. Orleans Parish Judge Juana Marine-Lombard handed the actor a six month suspended sentence and two years of probation. LaBeouf also must stay away from the victims and the bar.

Chervinsky said LaBeouf wanted “to take accountability for his part in what happened” and called it a “minor Mardi Gras bar tussle.” Chervinsky said there was “no evidence it was about bias or prejudice.”

Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams said in a statement that his office consulted with the victims to ensure their support before offering LaBeouf the plea deal.

Jeffrey Damnit, a local entertainer whom police identified as Jeffrey Klein, said he was one of the people attacked by LaBeouf. He has said LaBeouf had pushed him from behind at the bar earlier in the night, shouting homophobic slurs and threatening his life.

Damnit’s attorney said his client hopes LaBeouf’s behavior improves after the actor undergoes substance abuse treatment.

“In New Orleans we are all equal, we should all feel safe, and we don’t treat people different based upon relative fame,” attorney Michael Kennedy said.

After LaBeouf was charged in February, a judge ordered him to return to drug and alcohol rehabilitation.

Days later, LaBeouf denied having a “drinking problem” in an interview with journalist and YouTuber Andrew Callaghan. LaBeouf said he doubted rehab would help him. He told Callaghan that the issues leading led to his aggressive behavior during Mardi Gras were more rooted in “anger and ego” than alcohol.

LaBeouf also said that “big gay people are scary to me.”

“When I’m standing by myself and three gay dudes are next to me touching my leg, I get scared,” he told Callaghan. “I’m sorry. If that’s homophobic, then I’m that.”

LaBeouf, who converted to Catholicism a few years ago, has had several run-ins with the law during his career, including a 2017 New York City arrest on suspicion of assault that happened during a livestream.

While on location in Georgia filming “The Peanut Butter Falcon” later that year, he was arrested for public drunkenness and accused of disorderly conduct and obstruction and sentenced to probation.

In 2020, he was charged with misdemeanor battery and petty theft in Los Angeles.

That year, the English singer and actor FKA Twigs, whose legal name is Tahliah Barnett, also filed a lawsuit alleging LaBeouf was physically and emotionally abusive to her during their relationship, which they settled in July.

The actor first gained acclaim as a child for his role on the Disney Channel series “Even Stevens.”

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Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

NEW YORK (AP) — SpaceX says it plans to raise up to $75 billion when it goes public this month, setting the stage for the largest-ever stock market debut and putting Elon Musk on course to becoming the world’s first trillionaire.

The company, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., said Wednesday it will sell 555.6 million shares at $135 a piece in an initial public offering. The estimated proceeds would easily top the $26 billion raised by oil giant Saudi Aramco in 2019. The offering would also give SpaceX a market value of $1.77 trillion. Only six companies in the S&P 500 are currently worth more, with Nvidia tops at $5.2 trillion.

Besides the size of the offering and the expected proceeds, SpaceX’s amended prospectus updates details about how much control of the company Musk will have. As SpaceX’s CEO, chief technical officer and chairman, Musk’s voting power will come primarily through his ownership of 5.22 billion Class B shares, which give the holder 10 votes for every share held. According to the filing, Musk would have 82.4% of the voting power in the company.

Forbes currently values Musk’s net worth at $826 billion and his stake in SpaceX at $542 billion. The estimated value of his SpaceX holdings was based on an overall value for the company of $1.25 trillion. Based on those numbers, a $1.77 trillion valuation for SpaceX would boost Musk’s net worth by $223 billion, making him a trillionaire. However, much of Musk’s worth is in stock that he has yet to cash in.

Even as it makes a bid for a blockbuster market debut, SpaceX is currently losing billions of dollars a year. The filing shows that the company lost $2.6 billion from operations last year on $18.7 billion in revenue, and the losses kept piling up at the start of this year, too.

Fantastical plans

Time will tell how SpaceX fares on the market. Musk’s plans for the company are as fantastical as the money he hopes raise in the sale.

Colorful, even frightening in parts, the IPO document strikes a contrast with the typically dry, technical prose in IPO documents, detailing plans to use proceeds from the sale to help put men on the moon again and perhaps even Mars. In one section, it talks of a need to build “a permanent human colony” on the red planet with “at least one million inhabitants” as existential threats loom that could consign man to “the same fate as the dinosaurs.”

Musk has almost equally ambitious plans for his other publicly traded company, Tesla. His goal is to transform the maker of electric vehicles into a producer of robotaxis and humanoid robots. Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities wrote in a research note that he expects Tesla and SpaceX to merge next year.

AI plays a key role

Key to the success of both companies — and any merged entity — is artificial intelligence. In its IPO filing, SpaceX says it sees potential revenue from AI of up to $26.5 trillion. But that depends on another lofty Musk ambition — putting data centers in space, which is not technologically possible at the moment.

Transforming his space company into a primarily AI-focused company will be a challenge for Musk, who started xAI in 2023 with 11 other co-founders who have all since left. Some were recruited away by rivals.

Its main AI product, the chatbot Grok, is “less impressive than anything that we see from any other major player in the space, whether that’s OpenAI, or Anthropic, or (Google’s) Gemini,” said IDC analyst Arnal Dayaratna.

Dayaratna said that doesn’t mean SpaceX doesn’t have potential as a major AI player, thanks in part to its computing partnership with Anthropic and Musk’s recent deal that gave SpaceX the rights to buy AI coding tool Cursor for $60 billion later this year. Folding in Cursor’s capabilities would give SpaceX access to the coveted business customers now using Anthropic’s Claude or OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

SpaceX plans to use the net proceeds from the IPO to fund the expansion of infrastructure for its AI and rocket businesses, and to beef up the constellation of satellites that power Starlink Mobile, among other investments.

The company plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol “SPCX” and could begin trading as soon as the end of next week.

And SpaceX isn’t the only colossal market debut investors are now bracing for. Earlier this week, Anthropic submitted a confidential filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to officially start its own IPO clock.

OpenAI has not yet reported filing the initial SEC paperwork, but an IPO from the ChatGPT maker is widely expected.

“This listing represents the first major test for public markets after years of muted IPO activity with SpaceX paving the way for AI giants Anthropic and OpenAI to follow soon after,” Ives wrote.

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Associated Press Technology Writer Matt O’Brien contributed.

Monitoring software on Ben Barrett’s phone alerted police to his activities

A convicted paedophile chatted about child sexual abuse with an AI chatbot, a court has heard. Ben Barrett deleted the AI app from his phone before police examined the device, but officers had been alerted to his online activities by monitoring software.

The barrister for the 37-year-old defendant – who has twice been caught with indecent images on his phone – told Swansea Crown Court that his client had been “open and frank” with the Probation Service about his “obsessive” behaviour.

Abu Hussain, prosecuting, told the court that in October last year “eSafe” monitoring software which had been installed by the police on the defendant’s phone notified officers that he was accessing an app called Polybuzz and engaging in conversations with an AI chatbot about child sex abuse.

The court heard officers went to Barrett’s home and examined his phone but found the Polybuzz app had been removed from the device. The defendant was arrested on suspicion of breaching the sexual harm prevention order he has been subject to since 2018 – as part of the order the defendant is prohibited from deleting or hiding his online activities or browsing history. For the latest court stories sign up to our crime newsletter

Ben Stephen Thomas Barrett, of Maes y Farchnad in Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, had previously pleaded guilty to breaching a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has four previous convictions for 16 offences.

In 2016 Barrett was given a community order for possessing indecent images and was made subjected to SHPO. In 2018, he was given a suspended prison sentence for the same offence and made subject to a new 10-year SHPO – it is this order he breached by deleting the Polybuzz app. In 2020 the defendant was convicted of failing to comply with the requirements of the sex offenders register and given a suspended sentence.

Tom Scapens, for Barrett, said the monitoring software had been on the defendant’s phone for more than 12 months before being activated, and he said his client had been “open and frank” with the Probation Service about his “obsessive” behaviour.

Recorder Paul Lewis KC said the sentence which was due for breaching the sexual harm prevention order was one that could be suspended. The judge went on to say that given all the circumstances – “and not without some hesitation” – that is what he would do.

With a one-quarter discount for his guilty plea Barrett was sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for two years. He was also ordered to do 80 hours of unpaid work in the community and complete a rehabilitation course and an accredited programme.

The recorder told Barret: “You are fortunate in avoiding custody. Breach the order again and it is likely you will not get another chance and off to custody you will go”.

It is almost time for the Greatest Day hitmakers to take to the stage at the Stadium of Light on the reboot of their Circus tour from 2009. 

Featuring trapeze artists, balloons, and a giant walking elephant, the tour has already gotten off to a hugely successful start – and there are just days to go until it arrives on Wearside. 

Next Tuesday (June 9), Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen will perform some of their most-loved hits here in Sunderland for the first time since 2011. 

Take That on their Circus tour in Southampton (Image: Stuart Martin)

And as the gig nears, important information about the event is now being released by the stadium, including key timings and setlists. 

One of the most important things that ‘Thatters’ will be wondering about is what they are not able to bring through the doors of the ground. 

And now, the stadium has now confirmed the full list of banned items: 

• Alcohol
• Canned drinks
• Laptops and tablets
• Large cameras and video recording equipment
• Air horns
• Drinking glasses
• Glass bottles
• Sports bottles and flasks
• Buggies and prams
• Large umbrellas
• Knives or weapons
• Large bags (more than A4 in size) 
• Fireworks or flares
• Tools, poles, or sticks
• Smoke gas canisters 
• Flags or banners larger than 2m x 1m or of an offensive nature
• Musical instruments
• Plastic bottles

The club confirmed last week that a strict no-glass policy will be in place. 

Take That on their Circus tour in Southampton (Image: Stuart Martin)

Fans are reminded not to bring any glass items into the stadium, including both perfume and aftershave bottles. 

Security searches will be in place across the ground and any glass items found will be confiscated and will not be returned. 

Bags must be no larger than A4 in size – or no more than 210mm by 297mm – and will be searched on entry. There are no bag facilities available at the stadium. 

Take That’s Sunderland gig will be the first time the trio are in the North East since their Riverside Stadium concert in Middlesbrough in 2024.

The original Circus Live tour quickly became the fastest-selling of all time, breaking all records by selling all of their 650,000 tickets in less than four and a half hours.

Tickets are still on sale for the event.