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sleep
sleep
The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English
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2009
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© The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English 2009, originally published by Oxford University Press 2009. (Hide copyright information)
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sleep
/ slēp/
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n.
a condition of body and mind such as that which typically recurs for several hours every night, in which the nervous system is relatively inactive, the eyes closed, the postural muscles relaxed, and consciousness practically suspended:
I was on the verge of sleep|
[in sing.]
a good night's sleep.
∎ chiefly poetic/lit.
a state compared to or resembling this, such as death or complete silence or stillness:
a photograph of the poet in his last sleep.
∎
a gummy or gritty secretion found in the corners of the eyes after sleep:
she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
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v.
(past and past part. slept
/ slept/ ) [intr.]
rest in such a condition; be asleep:
she slept for half an hour|
[as adj.] (sleeping)
he looked at the sleeping child.
∎ (sleep through)
fail to be woken by:
he was so tired he slept through the alarm.
∎
have sexual intercourse or be involved in a sexual relationship:
I won't sleep with a man who doesn't respect me.
∎ [tr.] (sleep something off/away)
dispel the effects of or recover from something by going to sleep:
she thought it wise to let him sleep off his hangover.
∎ [tr.]
provide (a specified number of people) with beds, rooms, or places to stay the night:
studios sleeping two people cost $70 a night.
∎ fig.
be inactive or dormant:
Copenhagen likes to be known as the city that never sleeps.
∎ poetic/lit.
be at peace in death; lie buried:
he sleeps beneath the silver birches.
PHRASES:
one could do something in one's sleep inf.
one regards something as so easy that it will require no effort or conscious thought to accomplish:
she knew the music perfectly, could sing it in her sleep.
get to sleep
manage to fall asleep.
go to sleep
fall asleep.
∎
(of a limb) become numb as a result of prolonged pressure.
lose sleepsee lose.
put someone to sleep
make someone unconscious by the use of drugs, alcohol, or an anesthetic.
∎
(also send someone to sleep)
bore someone greatly.
put something to sleep
kill an animal, esp. an old, sick, or badly injured one, painlessly (used euphemistically).
∎
Comput.
put a computer on standby while it is not being used, esp. in order to reduce power consumption.
sleep easysee easy.
sleep like a log
(or top)
sleep very soundly.
sleep on it inf.
delay making a decision on something until the following day so as to have more time to consider it.
the sleep of the just
a deep, untroubled sleep.
sleep roughsee rough.
sleep tight [usu. in imper.]
sleep well (said to someone when parting from them at night).
sleep with one eye open
sleep very lightly, aware of what is happening around one.PHRASAL VERBS:
sleep around inf.
have many casual sexual partners.
sleep in
remain asleep or in bed later than usual in the morning.
∎
sleep by night at one's place of work.
sleep out
sleep outdoors.
sleep over
spend the night at a place other than one's own home:
Katie was asked to sleep over with Jenny.
ORIGIN: Old English slēp, slǣp (noun), slēpan, slǣpan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch slapen and German schlafen.
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To sleep or not to sleep: the ecology of sleep in artificial organisms.(Research article)
Magazine article from: BMC Ecology; 5/14/2008; ; 700+ words
; ...variation in the duration of sleep. In mammals, for example...Chaetophractus villous ) can sleep up to 20 hours per day [6...giraffe ( Giraffa camelopardalis ) sleeps for only two hours per day...exhibit variation in the timing of sleep throughout the day. One obvious...
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Sleep problems of parents of typically developing children and parents of children with autism.(Report)
Magazine article from: Journal of Genetic Psychology; 9/1/2008; ; 700+ words
; ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL SLEEP FOUNDATION (2004), children in the United States and their parents are not getting enough sleep (see also National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, 2003). Researchers have indicated...
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The sleep connection: poor sleep can hurt more than your attitude. Your health can be at risk, too. Here's where you can find the latest information on sleep disorders.
Magazine article from: Vibrant Life; 9/1/2003; ; 700+ words
; Sleep. We all need it. Yet most of us don't get enough. Mostly we rob ourselves of sleep. Our rushed lives take huge tolls. According to a study done by the American Sleep Foundation, nearly two thirds of American adults...
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Sleep Parameters Recorded by Actiwatch® in Elementary School Children and Junior High School Adolescents: Schooldays vs Weekends
Magazine article from: Sleep and Hypnosis; 4/1/2004; ; 700+ words
; Over the last years, sleep habits evolution from childhood into adolescence...The present study examines the objective sleep patterns as recorded by Actiwatch in elementary...elementary school children have constant sleep patterns. Significant differences were...
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Sleep Well, Your Life May Depend on it - Central Sleep Diagnostics Provides Attended Home Sleep Studies.
Business Wire; 12/22/2008; 700+ words
; CHICAGO -- Sleep disorders are one of the most significant medical problems...have. An estimated 15 million Americans have obstructive sleep apnea and many individuals have other sleep disorders as well. Sleep apnea is the most serious sleep...
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Sleep debts can leave students broke
News Wire article from: University Wire; 4/11/2006; ; 700+ words
; ...cause them to shortchange themselves on a necessity: Sleep. Cheating sleep, however, is like borrowing money -- and those who...only 11 percent of college students are getting the sleep they need, and 73 percent of college students reported...
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Sleep deprivation plays havoc with body, mind.
News Wire article from: PPI - Pakistan Press International; 7/4/2009; 700+ words
; ...Karachi, July 04 (PPI): It is estimated that almost half of all adults do not sleep well do not get the right amount of sleep. Todays fast paced society can make sleep seem like a luxury, not a need, but this is simply not true: you need quality...
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CHRONICALLY SLEEP DEPRIVED? YOU CAN'T MAKE UP FOR LOST SLEEP
News Wire article from: US Fed News Service, Including US State News; 7/3/2007; 700+ words
; ...Americans get nearly an hour less sleep a night than they did 40 years...now know that chronic lack of sleep has an effect on how an animal sleeps," said Fred W. Turek, professor...Northwestern's Center for Sleep and Circadian Biology and an...
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Sleep dreams: seven of 10 Americans need better sleep. Sleep disorders are more common--and more dangerous--than many people realize.(Cover story)
Magazine article from: Indiana Business Magazine; 3/1/2008; ; 700+ words
; SLEEP MEDICINE, ONE OF the newest medical subspecialties...s no wonder, when, according to the National Sleep Foundation, nearly seven out of every 10 Americans experience frequent sleep problems. Many people aren't even aware that...
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Sleep Disorders; Diagnosis.
Newspaper article from: NWHRC Health Center - Sleep Disorders; 3/17/2005; 700+ words
; If you have a sleep-related problem, diagnosis may be as...health care professional about the amount of sleep you're getting and taking simple steps...earlier, avoiding caffeine and alcohol) to sleep longer and better each night. However...
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Sleep
Encyclopedia entry from: Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health: Infancy through Adolescence
Sleep Definition Sleep is a biological imperative critical to the maintenance of mental and...activity during which the organism slows down and repairs itself. The sleep cycle involves two distinct phases that alternate cyclically from light...
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sleep
Book article from: The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English
...she thought it wise to let him sleep off his hangover. ∎...known as the city that never sleeps. ∎ poetic...peace in death; lie buried: he sleeps beneath the silver birches...could do something in one's sleep inf. one regards something...
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Sleep Disorders
Encyclopedia entry from: Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health: Infancy through Adolescence
Sleep disorders Definition Sleep disorders are a group of syndromes characterized by disturbance in the individual's amount of sleep, quality or timing of sleep, or in behaviors or physiological conditions...
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sleep disorders
Book article from: The Oxford Companion to the Body
sleep disorders The ability to fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake...The child's prayer, ‘Now I lay me down to sleep’, epitomizes the fond hope that sleep is a safe passage across a sea of unconsciousness undisturbed...
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Sleep/Wakefulness
Dictionary entry from: International Dictionary of Psychoanalysis
SLEEP/WAKEFULNESS Unlike being awake, a vigilant consciousness, sleep corresponds to a withdrawal of cathexis from the outside...at the beginning of life the opposition wakefulness/sleep is closely dependent upon that of satisfactions and...
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