Soul Sleep is false doctrine. No one sleeps in Heaven. And all the saints go to Heaven immediately upon death. As Paul says "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord". Just like Stephen, the souls and spirits of those who die in Christ go directly to Heaven. And all the saints who have passed on are presently in Heaven (Heb 12:22-24).
One other point to ponder...
misquoting paul's statement (as you have) about being absent the body without the full sentence (abbreviating it) completely changes its meaning to fit the doctrine you prefer. He did NOT say being absent from the body means that we are immediately and automatically in the presence of God in Heaven. Your quote makes it appear to be a statement supporting the notion that we must immediately be in the Lord's presence as soon as we take our last breath. This is untrue and contradicts other scriptures and the basic premise of the Gospel of the Kingdom. It is a Kingdom destined for our current location. We are not going up, He is coming down.