Last Updated on September 2, 2024 by Mathew Diekhake
Sleep mode has been enhanced in Windows 10. Now there isn’t any reason to turn off your computer every time you spend an extended period away from the screen.
Putting your computer in Sleep mode puts the computer’s state in memory, and other parts are turned off as if the computer had been shut down. There may be times when you can hear your computer’s fans click in when your computer is in Sleep mode, but that’s likely because there are tasks running on the background related to Windows 10 that are getting done. When those tasks complete, the computer will be quiet again.
Sleep is beneficial to use over the Shutdown state sometimes because you can start using your computer quicker when you wake it up. That remains true to this day even though computers boot much quicker in Windows 10 with fast startup mode being enabled.
The following tutorial demonstrates all the different ways you can put your computer to sleep when you’re using a version of the Windows 10 operating system.
Method One: How to Sleep Computer from Start Menu
Here is how you can put the computer to sleep from the Power menu:
1. Click on the Start button, click on Power and then click on Sleep from the Power menu.
2. Click on the Start button and then click on the Start hamburger icon at the top of the Start menu and then click on Power and then Sleep from the Power menu.
Method Two: How to Sleep Computer from Power User Menu
Here is how you can put the computer to sleep from the Power User menu:
1. Open the Power User menu.
2. Hover the cursor on the Shut down or sign out link and then click on Sleep.
Method Three: How to Sleep Computer from Alt+F4 Shut Down Windows Dialog
Here is how you can put the computer to sleep from the Alt+F4 shut down Windows screen:
1. Click on the desktop so it is the active window and then press the Alt+F4 keys on your keyboard.
If you don’t make the desktop the active window, the keys you press can make changes to the app or browser window that you have open instead.
Method Four: How to Sleep Computer from Ctrl+Alt+Del Screen
Here is how you can put the computer to sleep from the Ctrl+Alt+Del screen:
1. Press the Ctrl+Alt+Del keys on your keyboard to bring up the Ctrl+Alt+Del screen, and then click on the Power icon in the bottom right corner of the window.
2. From the Power menu, click on the Sleep button.
Method Five: How to Sleep Computer from Sign-in Screen
Here is how you can put the computer to sleep from the sign-in screen:
1. When you have the sign-in screen on the computer, click on the Power icon in the bottom right corner of the screen.
2. From the Power menu, click on the Sleep button.
Method Six: How to Change PC Sleep After in Power Options
Here is how you can put the computer to sleep from the Power Options dialog:
Note: You use this option to change how long the computer waist before it goes to sleep once there has been no user activity.
1. Open the Power Options dialog.
2. From the list of settings, expand Sleep and Sleep after.
3. Use the arrows to choose how long in minutes you want the computer to wait before it goes to sleep. You can also specify zero minutes if you don’t want it to go to sleep at all.
You can now close the Power Options dialog and continue using your computer if you like.
Method Seven: How to Sleep Computer using Power Buttons and Lid
Here is how you can put the computer to sleep with the Power buttons and the laptop’s lid:
1. Open the Power Options dialog.
2. From the list of settings, expand Power buttons and lid.
3. Use the drop-down menu to choose when you want to happen when you close the lid or for the Power and Sleep actions.
You can now close the Power Options dialog and continue using your computer if you like.
Method Eight: How to Change PC Sleep After in Settings
Here is how you can choose how long you want the computer to wait before it puts itself to sleep after you have walked away from the screen:
Note: You use this option to change how long the computer waist before it goes to sleep once there has been no user activity.
1. Open the Settings app.
2. Click on the System icon from the main Windows Settings menu.
3. From System’s left menu, click on Power & Sleep and then in the right side of the same window, choose what you would like to the computer to do when on power and on battery under the Sleep heading.
You can now close the Settings app and continue using your computer if you like.
That’s all.
Hewlett Packard
April 29, 2019 @ 22:30
I’ve read some people like Chriss Hoffman say that you can use sleep mode in place of turning off your computers but that has not proven true around my house at all. Not only do the computers not wind themselves down to a less powered-state, which can be noted by the same fan noise I’m hearing, but it tends to cause problems that are avoided by powering down completely. I still think that turning off a computer resets the software which aids in avoiding problems.
Meek Chills
April 29, 2019 @ 22:53
Interesting information!
I haven’t had any Bluetooth issues with my computer. I actually really appreciate the Bluetooth technology. I frequently have to carry around a wireless headphone set to different computers and love the changes to Windows in this regard of late. Now it’s much easier to watch between computers without having to create a new connection all the time. And when I turn off my headphones the website’s like YouTube automatically will pause what was happening so the sound doesn’t begin blaring through my computers. It also allows me to resume where I left off.
Lynn Couch
April 29, 2019 @ 22:55
That is a double-edged sword at time because it doesn’t know when you plan on coming back and continuing using your headphones and when you planned on continuing to use the computer with them off. If you’re using the computer with them off then it becomes an annoyance that you would have to open the browser tab and click play on your music or video content for it to start playing again.
Meek Chills
April 29, 2019 @ 22:59
That is true but I think Windows has chosen the correct way. The difference is that if you did plan on coming back it becomes very easy to continue where you left off. If you don’t plan on using the headphones again then it is not hard to click play and start listening to your computer in a different state (which is to not have the headphones anymore). If you were to have to keep pausing the video before you walked away, it requires more thinking and more effort. Mentally you should be prepared to have to do a small job if it is you who is making a change in the way you are working, so you should n’t be irked about having to click play on a video when it is you who has made the change from using headphones to no longer using the headphones.
Windoze
April 29, 2019 @ 22:41
I couldn’t agree more. I have no plans to switch away from Windows because even with all its quirks I enjoy it. And I don’t mind putting up with them for familiarity and more choices. I don’t always want a laptop that looks Apple; I want to be able to choose between Lenovo, Dell, HP and the different styles that different brands bring to the table.
However, it’s amazing how much work Windows still has to do. I remember when Windows 10 first came out, and people asked me if it is ready to switch and I said emphatically “of course!.” But in reality, Windows 10 has only been anything close to “ready” in more recent updates.
Sleep mode is still a feature that needs a lot of work. I understand that part of the people in this regard is that Windows putting software onto its own hardware is easier than integrating it with other manufacturers, but nevertheless, Sleep is still below par for the course.
On one laptop, if I use Sleep mode, at least some of the time when I wake the laptop I will not have my Bluetooth — it just disappears on me, and it can’t be used. Tech support calls this a hardware issue (I think because they have my records of it being recurring and to get me off their back about it) so I have to try solving it by myself. Some of the time it ends up coming back on its own and when it does those are usually the time I make a mental note to make the most of my time with that computer. On my desktop computer the Sleep mode can often be heard idling the same way it does when the computer is turned on normally; not always but a lot of the time and enough of the time for me to avoid sleep for anything other than short periods because I don’t have the confidence in it to be running at full steam. I don’t like trying to relax and go to sleep when in the back of my mind my computer is going through a workout as if it were to be turned on and in use. I have many more stories, but I think that is enough for now.
Hewlett Packard
April 29, 2019 @ 22:48
Same man.
Bluetooth is still a pain in the butt. I have recently gone back to a wired keyboard because I don’t want to waste money on batteries but also because it eliminates any issues that might arise with Bluetooth that I have experienced. I can’t even get my desktop computer to recognize my Bluetooth headset, so the last thing I want is to travel somewhere, and I can’t get my keyboard to work. I am thinking of doing the same with my mouse, so I don’t get the issues that I read other people having. When I get up in the morning, it’s critical to have my laptop working if I’m going to remain in this world as I often can be found working from it.
These days I use sleep mode in small doses. It’s still handy if I started a jo on my PC and then I change my mind and want to go for a walk instead for the next 30 minutes. I almost always come back to the computer and everything is working as I left it. It’s more coming back after long periods that I lose my confidence in my computers.