time.sleep() in Python

Difficulty Level : Basic
Last Updated : 01 Sep, 2020

sleep() is defined in time() module of python 3. Sometimes, there is a need to hault the flow of the program so that several other executions can take place or simply due to the utility required. sleep() can come handy in such a situation which provides an accurate and flexible way to halt the flow of code for any period of time. This function discusses the insight of this function.

Syntax : sleep(sec)
Parameters :
sec : Number of seconds for which the code is required to be stopped.
Returns : VOID.

Code #1 : Demonstrating sleep()

Python3

# Python code to demonstrate
# working of sleep()
 
import time
 
# printing the start time
print("The time of code execution begin is : ", end ="")
print(time.ctime())
 
# using sleep() to hault the code execution
time.sleep(6)
 
 
# printing the end time
print("The time of code execution end is : ", end ="")
print(time.ctime())

Output:

The time of code execution begin is : Mon Apr  9 20:57:10 2018
The time of code execution end is : Mon Apr  9 20:57:16 2018

Application :
There are many applications that sleep() is used for. Be it execution of the background thread which is repeated at regular interval, this can be implemented with the help of sleep(). Another popular application is using sleep() to print the words letter by letter for good user interface. The latter is represented from this code below.

Code #2 : Demonstrating application of sleep()

Python3

# Python code to demonstrate
# application of sleep()
 
import time
 
# initializing string
strn = "GeeksforGeeks"
 
# printing geeksforgeeks after delay
# of each character
for i in range(0, len(strn)):
    print(strn[i], end ="")
    time.sleep(2)

Output:

GeeksForGeeks

Note : Visible effect of sleep() can be seen in the local editor.

Code #3: Creating Time Delay in List

Python3

# importing time package
import time
 
# creating a time delay of 5 seconds
time.sleep(5)
 
# creating and Initilizing a list
myList = ['Jai', 'Shree', 'RAM', 5, 'August', 2020]
 
# the list will be displayed after the delay of 5 seconds
print(myList)

Output:

After the delay of 5 seconds, we will get the output as:

['Jai', 'Shree', 'RAM', 5, 'August', 2020]

Code #4: Creating Time Delay in Tuple

Python3

# importing time package
import time
 
# creating a time delay of 4 seconds
time.sleep(4)
 
# creating and Initilizing a tuple
mytuple = ('Anil Kumbl', 'Sachin Tendulkar', 'Sunil Gavaskar', 'Rahul Dravid', 'Mahendra Singh Dhoni',
          'Dennis Lillee', 'Muttiah Muralitharan', 'Shane Warne')
 
# the tuple will be displayed after the delay of 4 seconds
print(mytuple)

Output:

After the delay of 4 seconds, we will get the output as:

('Anil Kumbl', 'Sachin Tendulkar', 'Sunil Gavaskar', 'Rahul Dravid',
'Mahendra Singh Dhoni', 'Dennis Lillee', 'Muttiah Muralitharan', 'Shane Warne')

Code #5: Creating Multiple Time Delays

Python3

# importing time package
import time
 
# creating and Initilizing a list
Languages = ['Java', 'C++', 'Python', 'Javascript', 'C#', 'C', 'Kotlin']
 
# creating a time delay of 5 seconds
time.sleep(5)
 
# the list will be displayed after the delay of 5 seconds
print(Languages)
 
for lan in Languages:
     
    # creating a time delay of 13 seconds
    time.sleep(13)
     
    # After every 13 seconds an item of list will be displayed
    print(lan)

Output:

After the delay of 5 seconds, the list will be displayed as:

['Java', 'C++', 'Python', 'Javascript', 'C#', 'C', 'Kotlin']

Then after every 13 seconds, the items of the list will be displayed as:

Java
C++
Python
Javascript
C#
C
Kotlin

Code #6: Time Delay in a List Comprehension

Python3

# importing time package
import time
 
# creating and Initilizing a list
cricketers = ['Anil Kumble', 'Sachin Tendulkar', 'Sunil Gavaskar', 'Rahul Dravid', 'Mahendra Singh Dhoni',
          'Dennis Lillee', 'Muttiah Muralitharan', 'Shane Warne']
 
# time delay of 7 seconds is created
# after every 7 seconds item of list gets displayed
cricketers = [(time.sleep(7), print(cric)) for cric in cricketers]

Output:

After every 7 seconds, the items of the list will be displayed as:

Anil Kumble
Sachin Tendulkar
Sunil Gavaskar
Rahul Dravid
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Dennis Lillee
Muttiah Muralitharan
Shane Warne

Code #7: Creating a Time Delay of 3 minutes in List

Python3

# importing time package
import time
 
# creating and Initilizing a list
Languages = ['Java', 'C++', 'Python', 'Javascript', 'C#', 'C', 'Kotlin']
 
# creating a time delay of 3 minutes
time.sleep(3 * 60)
 
# the list will be displayed after the delay of 3 minutes
print(Languages)

Output:

After the delay of 3 minutes, the list will be displayed as:

['Java', 'C++', 'Python', 'Javascript', 'C#', 'C', 'Kotlin']

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