Feeling SLEEPY? These English expressions will wake you up!

Ah, sleep... one of life's great pleasures. If you get enough of it that is! There are many ways to talk about sleep (or the lack of it) in English, and perhaps you know some of these already.

But before you fall asleep, I'd like to explore several of the most common English Expressions about sleep. Ironically when you start to use these expressions in your daily English conversations, your language will sound richer and no one will be falling asleep while listening to you!

Looks like this character slept like a baby last night by the way!

Alrighty, so in this episode we'll look at the following expressions...

Expressions about Sleep:

• "Tossing and turning" - If you are awake throughout the night, trying and failing to get to sleep, you can say that you are tossing and turning. Perhaps it's the hot weather, worries on your mind or you just can't get comfortable enough.
• "Hit the hay / sack" - An old but still commonly used expression (sometimes in a light hearted way these days) to simply mean you're going to sleep. Alright, it's time to hit the sack. Goodnight!
• "I'm knackered!" - This British slang may leave Americans confused but is commonly used in the UK. When you're exhausted and barely have any energy to speak of after a long day, you're knackered! Just make sure you're not pronouncing this as "naked" or some awkward misunderstandings may arise...
• "I couldn't sleep a wink" - If you were tossing and turning all night, then it's likely you didn't sleep a wink as well. This simply means that the whole night you didn't sleep at all, not even a minute. Horrible!
• "To sleep like a baby / log" - I'm not sure why babies get the credit for sleeping soundly, as I've seen much evidence to the contrary. Nonetheless if you sleep very deeply all night then you can say you slept like a baby, or even a log (the wood cut from a tree).
• "Out like a light" - If you are someone who falls asleep in an instant, then you are generally out like a light. No tossing and turning for you! Perhaps after a long and busy day when you're feeling knackered you'll be out like a light as soon as you hit the sack!
• "I'll sleep on it..." - We use this expression when you have a decision to make, perhaps a rather important one, and it would be better to make it after a good night's rest. In this case "it" is the decision that you will sleep on.
• "Fast asleep" - Similar to sleeping like a baby or log, if you are fast asleep, there is no waking you. Or at least it would be rather rude or annoying to the person if you try!
• "Lie in / sleep in" - When you have no commitments in the morning you can have the luxury of lying or sleeping in (staying in bed). Pretty lovely huh? "Sleep in" can also be used when you accidentally don't wake up, although overslept would be a more common word to use in this situation.
• "Early bird vs. night owl" - Those early risers who seize the day as soon as dawn breaks can be described as early birds, while those who thrive in the nighttime but generally prefer to sleep in would be called night owls. Which one are you?

In this week's podcast episode I'll give you several examples of how to use these expressions naturally in English. I would love to see your personal examples in the comments below!

Sweet dreams,

Lloyd 🙂