Power surges or power drops occurring when a machine is powered by its power adapter are more harmful to a sleeping computer than to one completely shut down.

Normal shutdowns and startups allow the machine to perform self-tests, clear out the RAM, and alert you to software updates or minor errors.

Sleep shuts down the display and parks the disk drive to prevent damage. The more applications running, the longer it takes for your device to go to sleep.

When you decide to put a PC to sleep rather than shut down, it's good practice to observe the LED pulse before moving the machine.

A habit of always putting a machine to sleep rather than shutting it down may override the conscious act of deciding whether to put our devices to sleep or shut down. We save a lot of time in our lives not waiting for our devices to shut down and start back up, but we should not make putting our machines to sleep all the time our modus operandi. It's convenient to close the lid of our laptops, go to a meeting, return, and open the laptops to be right where we left off without having to wait for our machines to boot.

Computer not staying in sleep mode