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7.9.5 Delaying Execution

The following function is available to delay execution of the server process:

pg_sleep(seconds)

pg_sleep makes the current session's process sleep until seconds seconds have elapsed. seconds is a value of type double precision, so fractional-second delays can be specified. For example:

SELECT pg_sleep(1.5);

Note: The effective resolution of the sleep interval is platform-specific; 0.01 seconds is a common value. The sleep delay will be at least as long as specified. It may be longer depending on factors such as server load.

Warning: Make sure that your session does not hold more locks than necessary when calling pg_sleep. Otherwise other sessions might have to wait for your sleeping process, slowing down the entire system.