I found myself thinking about something truly sci-fi: cryo-sleep.

Spring is moving fast here—one minute I’m dragging branches off the lawn, the next I’m squinting at the thermometer wondering if it’s too soon to get the grill out. (Spoiler: it’s never too soon.) And with summer just around the corner, everything seems to be speeding up. School events, book edits, lawn chores, and somehow always running out of coffee.

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Time has a funny way of shifting depending on what we’re doing. Some days race by like a rocket launch, others crawl like dial-up internet. (Yes, I just dated myself.) It’s in these moments—watching life accelerate—that I found myself thinking about something truly sci-fi: cryo-sleep.

The idea that we could pause time for ourselves, drift through the void, and wake up in a new world, a new century, or at least after the release date we keep pushing back. As science fiction writers, cryo-sleep is one of our favorite tools, and for good reason. It lets us explore distance, time, and human nature in ways few concepts can.

And naturally, it gave me an idea for a story. (I know, shocking.) One where the act of cryo-sleep isn’t just a way to get from A to B—but a critical piece of the mystery itself.

In today’s article, I’m diving into the real science of cryo-sleep, where we’re at, how sci-fi has used it (and abused it), and what it might mean for the future of deep space travel—and storytelling.

So let’s hit pause for a second and take a look at what happens when we stop time… on purpose.

About Leif J. Erickson

Leif J. Erickson is a science fiction and fantasy author from a small farming community in west central Minnesota. Using his time wisely when he was a farmer, Leif developed many ideas, characters, and storylines to create over fifty unique first drafts and outlines for stories. From his start in a small town school, to college at North Dakota State University, back to his family farm, then to the bright lights of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and back to his small farming town, Leif has always had a love of writing.

When Leif isn’t writing he can be found with his wife hiking in state parks, canoeing local lakes and rivers, exploring local and regional ghost towns, experiencing museums, or simply reading or hanging out with friends and family. Leif draws on the local nature and ecology to find inspiration for his writing while he also asks what’s possible for technology and the human race, weaving them together for amazing stories that will stay with the reader for years to come. Leif looks forward to having many novel and story releases in the years to come.

You can see all of Leif’s Books here: Leif’s Amazon Author Page