talking about sleep in English

Question 1

Going to sleep

Answer 1

This morning, I woke up early and felt sleepy. It made me think about crawling back in bed. And then I started to think of all the ways that you can describe sleeping, going to sleep, waking up, staying awake, and so on:

Going to sleep
go to bed
fall asleep
What’s the difference? You “go to bed” on purpose. “Falling asleep” is something that happens to you.

go straight to sleep
This means sleeping immediately after something else, like right when you get home.

I’ll come tuck you in in a minute.
You do this for young children: you help them to get comfortable before they go to sleep.

Question 2

Sleeping

Answer 2

Sleeping
take a nap
This is sleeping during the daytime.

(someone) got a good night’s sleep

(someone) is passed out
“Passing out” means going to sleep suddenly and accidentally.

a heavy sleeper
This describes someone who doesn’t wake up easily at night.

(someone) sleeps like a baby
This is a heavy sleep that seems peaceful.

(someone) sleeps like a log.
This is a heavy sleep that seems a bit boring.

(someone) snores
They make noises with their nose while sleeping

(someone) sleeps on (his or her) back
You can also sleep on your side or on your stomach.

I usually get about six hours of sleep a night.

Question 3

Not sleeping

Answer 3

Not sleeping
(someone) stayed up late

(someone) was tossing and turning all night
This means moving around a lot in your sleep.

(someone) is a restless sleeper
This means that you move around a lot and wake up in the middle of the night.

(someone) has insomnia
This is the medical name for not being able to sleep well.
pull an all-nighter
This means staying up all night to work on something or go out.

a night owl
This is a person who likes to stay up late.

Question 4

Waking up

Answer 4

Waking up
(someone) gets to sleep in tomorrow
Sleep until late in the day.

crawl back in bed
Go to bed again after waking up.

wake up to an alarm
This means waking up when the alarm clock rings.

get up at the crack of dawn
This means waking up as soon as the sun rises.

Damn! I overslept!
This means sleeping too late.

Rise and shine!
Say this to someone as they’re waking up. It sounds bright and cheerful.

an early bird
This is someone who wakes up early.

Question 5

Feeling sleepy

Answer 5

(some medicine) makes me drowsy.
Use this phrase to talk about medicine.

I can barely hold my eyes open.
Say this if you’re really sleepy but trying to stay awake.

I’m exhausted!
Say this if you’re really tired.
Personally, I’ve never had much of a problem getting to sleep. I usually fall asleep within a few minutes of going to bed. I do tend to wake up early, though, even when I don’t set an alarm.

What about you? How do you sleep? Can you describe it using some of these phrases?

Question 6

Your morning routine

Answer 6

Here are some phrases that describe what you do every morning:

I’m up bright and early.
I’m up at the crack of dawn.
I wake up to an alarm.
I’ll usually hit “snooze” a few times.
I roll out of bed at about 8:00.
I tend to sleep in.
I’ve got to have my coffee first thing in the morning.
Then I jump in the shower.
I’ll grab something to eat on the way to work.
My wife gets the kids dressed.
I pack my own lunch.
I iron all my clothes ahead of time, so I’m not in a rush.
It takes me about 30 minutes to do my makeup.
I like to read the morning paper.
I always check the weather before I head out.
I’m out the door by 8:30.

Question 7

My grandpa used to tell me about how he had to get up at the crack of dawn every day to start work on the farm.”

Answer 7

You’re talking to your friend about people who are hard workers. Your grandfather worked on a farm when he was a boy. You tell your friend this about him.
My grandpa used to tell me about how he had to get up at the crack of dawn every day to start work on the farm.
get up at the crack of dawn
This idiom means “wake up very early in the morning”. Literally, it means to wake up right when it starts to become light outside.

People usually talk about “getting up at the crack of dawn” when complaining about how early they had to wake up for work. They also use this phrase to speak admiringly about someone who wakes up early.

Question 8

I’ll be there bright and early!

Answer 8

You’ve got a new job that you’re starting tomorrow. Your new boss has called you to confirm that you’re starting tomorrow. You want to sound enthusiastic, so you say this.
I’ll be there bright and early!
bright and early
“Bright and early” means “early in the morning”. You use it to talk about waking up early, starting work early, exercising early in the morning, and so on.

“Bright and early” sounds energetic and positive.

Question 9

I can barely hold my eyes open.

Answer 9

You’re driving late at night, and you’re sleepy. You feel like you’re going to fall asleep. You tell this to the person riding with you.
I can barely hold my eyes open.
hold (your) eyes open
To “hold your eyes open” means to stay awake, and to keep your eyes from closing. This phrase is mostly used in sentences like the one above, where the speaker is saying that she can’t hold her eyes open.

Question 10

ugh. My sleep cycle is still totally out of whack.

Answer 10

(something) is out of whack
Things that are “out of whack” are not working properly.

Things that you can describe as being “out of whack” include systems like:

a person’s body cycles, including digestion, menstruation, and sleep
the climate in a certain part of the world
a company’s communication system
This is a very casual, colloquial phrase. A more formal way to say “out of whack” is “out of balance”.

Question 11

I was tossing and turning all night.

Answer 11

You and your friend are on vacation together. You’re in a hotel room, and the bed was uncomfortable. Your friend asks how you slept, so you answer.
I was tossing and turning all night.
(someone) is tossing and turning
When someone can’t sleep well, they turn over in bed a lot to try to find a more comfortable position. This is known as “tossing and turning”.

Another way to describe this situatiion is to say that a person’s sleep was “restless”:

She’s always been a restless sleeper. She tosses and turns all night long.

Neither “tossing” nor “turning” by themselves express this meaning of sleeping badly.

Question 12

He gets cranky when he doesn’t have a nap.

Answer 12

Your young son is crying while you’re talking on the phone with your brother. You think it’s because he hasn’t slept this afternoon. You explain like this.
He gets cranky when he doesn’t have a nap.
(someone) is cranky
The word “cranky” is mostly used to describe young children who are in a bad mood because they need to go to sleep. When kids are “cranky”, they cry, yell, and get angry.

You could also use the word “cranky” to describe an adult who’s in a bad mood. If you do this, it’s a little bit of an insult because it means that they’re acting immature, like a little baby.

have a nap
A “nap” is when you sleep for a short time during the day. Young children take naps a lot. Some adults would like to take naps too if they could.

The most common verb to use with “nap” is “take”:

I’m going to take a nap.

But “taking” a nap sounds like something that a person does on purpose. When people talk about children, they use the phrase “have a nap”:

Has she had a nap yet?

Oh, you’re so sleepy! Why don’t we have a nap?

This makes the nap sound like something that the child needs to do each day.

Question 13

I went straight to sleep as soon as I got home

Answer 13

You went on a trip with a group of friends for 4 days. You had a lot of fun and didn’t sleep much, so you were tired at the end of your trip. You went to sleep soon after you returned home. You say this while talking to one of your friends who was on the trip.
I went straight to sleep as soon as I got home.
go to sleep
When you’re talking about sleeping, there are several stages:

When you’re awake and then start sleeping, it’s called “going to sleep”.
After you have gone to sleep, we say that you “are asleep”.
Then you “wake up”.
Once you wake up, you “are awake”.
There are other actions that have similar stages. For example, you “put on” clothes, then “wear” them, then “take them off”.

Question 14

What? You mean you don’t want to pull an all-nighter?

Answer 14

You’re working on a project at work with a group of people. You’re not finished with it, but everyone is tired and it’s getting late, so someone suggests picking it back up the next day. You think that’s a good idea, but you want to joke that everyone should stay all night to work on it, so you say this.
What? You mean you don’t want to pull an all-nighter?
pull an all-nighter

“Pulling an all-nighter” means staying up all night to work on something. This is most often used to talk about students who stay up all night to finish a big homework assignment or to study for a test. You can also use it when you’re talking about people staying at work all night to finish something.

Question 15

I ended up spending the night in a cheap hotel.

Answer 15

You’re telling a story about a silly mistake you made when you left your keys at work and couldn’t get into your apartment. You’ve described what happened, and now you want to explain the result of this event. You say:
I ended up spending the night in a cheap hotel.
(someone) ended up (doing something)
When you’re telling a story about something that happened, sometimes you don’t want to tell everything that a person did. You just want to tell what happened last. To express this, you say that someone “ended up ___ing”. For example:

We had a great time sitting around talking, and we ended up going to bed at about four in the morning.

Jason looked for a job for about 6 months, and he finally ended up taking a job waiting tables at a sushi restaurant downtown.

spend the night (somewhere)
To “spend the night” somewhere means to sleep somewhere other than your own home. You can “spend the night”:

at your friend’s house
at a hotel
with your girlfriend or boyfriend

Question 16

Hey, you’re taking up the whole bed!

Answer 16

You're ready to go to sleep, but your wife is already in bed and is stretched out over the whole bed. You need for her to move so that you'll have room to lay down. You say this to her.
Hey, you're taking up the whole bed!
take up (space)
To "take up" space means to use that space. But "take up" is a slightly negative expression. It's used when space is important, and you don't want the space to be used:

We used to have a piano in the living room, but it just took up a lot of space and no one ever played it.

You can use the word “space” like in this example. Or you can name the space, like in the example at the top or in the following:

That old car is taking up the whole garage

Question 17

I think that the ship symbolizes your feelings about your professional life.

Answer 17

Your friend told you about a recurring dream he has in which he’s on a ship that’s sinking. He asked you what you think it means. This is how you explain your theory.
I think that the ship symbolizes your feelings about your professional life.
(something) symbolizes (something)
A “symbol” is one thing that represents something else. For example, a wedding ring is a symbol for a couple’s marriage.

“Symbolize” is a verb that means to be a symbol. Here’s an example:

This wedding ring symbolizes our love and commitment to each other.

People think that the events that happen in your dreams are symbols for emotions or memories in your real life. People often try to interpret each other’s dreams, which means to explain what the dreams mean.

There are also a lot of symbols in things like:

literature
paintings
ceremonies

Question 18

I have this recurring dream where I’m on a boat that’s sinking.

Answer 18

You and a friend are talking about the topic of dreams. There’s a certain dream that you often have. You tell your friend this about it.
I have this recurring dream where I’m on a boat that’s sinking
have a dream
English speakers use the phrase “have a dream” to describe dreaming. Other languages may use words like “see” or “imagine”, but in English it’s always “have”.

a recurring dream
A “recurring dream” is one that you have over and over again. It’s usually one particular situation that you’ve dreamed about several times. Some unlucky people have a “recurring nightmare”, which is a frightening dream that they have again and again.

The word “recurring” means “happening again and again in the same way”. It’s also used in these phrases:

A recurring theme in a novel is an idea which keeps appearing throughout the book.
When an actor has a recurring role on a TV show, it means that they keep coming back on the show to play the same character.