As per JMeter Thread Group Documentation:
Ramp-up Period
How long JMeter should take to get all the threads started. If there are 10 threads and a ramp-up time of 100 seconds, then each thread will begin 10 seconds after the previous thread started, for a total time of 100 seconds to get the test fully up to speed.
You have 5 users
- if you set ramp-up period to 0 - all 5 users will start at once
- if you set ramp-up period to 5 - JMeter will start with 1 user and will add an extra 1 user each second
- if you set ramp-up period to 10 - JMeter will start with 1 user and will add an extra 1 user each 2 seconds
- etc.
Once user is started it starts executing Samplers upside down (or according to Logic Controllers) when there are no more samplers to execute or loops to iterate - the thread is being shut down.
Check out JMeter Ramp-Up - The Ultimate Guide article for more information on configuring users arrival rate.
You might also be interested in Ultimate Thread Group which makes workload definition easier, moreover you will have a chart representing anticipated load. You can install Ultimate Thread Group using JMeter Plugins Manager