Slips away from area and sleeps around (7)
I believe the answer is:
elapses
'slips away' is the definition.
('elapse' can be a synonym of 'slip away')
'area and sleeps around' is the wordplay.
'area' becomes 'a' (maths abbreviation).
'and' says to put letters next to each other (I've seen this in other clues).
'around' indicates anagramming the letters.
'a' after 'sleeps' is 'sleepsa'.
'sleepsa' with letters rearranged gives 'ELAPSES'.
'from' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for elapses that I've seen before include "Passes (in time)" , "Slips away" .)