A “nod” is the up and down movement of the head. That head movement is what happens when you nod off while sitting. Your head drops down and … you fall … asleep.

Now, we might take a short snooze during the day to get a little rest. And if we had a late night, we might need to hit the snooze alarm or snooze button a couple of times before actually getting up. This lets us get a little more shut-eye.

Most of these expressions are for the short rests we take during the day — but not when we actually go to bed at night. We have a whole different set of other expressions just for that!

You can simply turn in. This just means to go to bed for the night. When you fold down the blankets to get into bed, you are “turning down the bed.”

Some people are just too tired to fuss with turning down blankets. They might say, “It’s late. I’m going to crash.” This means they are so tired that they feel like they need to fall — or crash — onto the bed. Young people are fond of this expression.

If you hit the sack or hit the hay you are officially going to bed for the night. A sack is a big bag, like the bag that rice comes in. Word historians say that in earlier days, people would fill empty rice sacks with something soft, like feathers, and make it a pillow.

And hay is the kind of dried grass that farmers put down for some farm animals to sleep on. It’s actually quite comfortable. In fact, a long time ago, some beds were filled with hay.

Maybe you are one of those lucky people who drift off to sleep quickly. As soon as your head hits the pillow, you are out like a light. This means you fell asleep in the time it takes to turn off the light.

For some other people, sleep might not come so fast. Some people might need to listen to peaceful music or read a book to help them fall asleep.

Others might need to count sheep. When you count sheep, you imagine cute little sheep jumping over a fence. The scene is so relaxing — and counting sheep is so boring — that you will soon be sawing logs. That is to say, you are so deeply asleep that you will start snoring loudly.

Some people may fall asleep quickly, but then they have a
restless night’s sleep. They toss and turn all night. And what about those times when you can’t seem to fall sleep at all? For those nights you can say, “I didn’t sleep a wink!” Now, a couple of expressions with the word “sleep” aren’t actually about sleep at all.

Sometimes when we have something on our mind that is important to us, we might think about it as we’re falling asleep. It might keep us awake. On the other hand, if there is an issue that you simply don’t care about at all, you can say that you are not going to lose any sleep over it. We often use this to answer something said to us.

Here’s an example:

A: Wow. Curtis is really mad at you. He said he’s not going to forget what you did at the party last night.

B: I didn’t do anything. And anyway, Curtis is all talk. Trust me. I’m not going to lose any sleep over his empty threats. Now, if you want someone to spend more time thinking about something, you can tell them to sleep on it. We usually say this when someone has to make a decision.

Glossary

Cat nap: a short period of sleep
Power nap: We take power naps during the middle of a workday to
help us get more work done.
Sleep in: remain asleep or in bed later than usual in the morning
To get some shut-eye: when we’re tired, we may say we need to get some shut-eye. You can only sleep when you shut your eyes.
To catch some z’s: simply means to sleep
Nod off: A “nod” is the up and down movement of the head.
Snooze: have a short, light sleep, especially during the day.
To hit the snooze alarm or snooze button: apagar la alarma

Turn in: This just means to go to bed for the night
Fold down the blankets: Doblar las frazadas
Turning down the bed: When you fold down the blankets to get into bed.
To fuss: show unnecessary or excessive concern about something
It’s late. I’m going to crash: This means they are so tired that they feel like they need to fall –or crash — onto the bed.
Hit the sack or hit the Hay: you are officially going to bed for the night
A hay: heno
Drift off: to fall asleep
Saw logs: To snore very loudly or intensely, as during a deep sleep
Toss: sacudir
I didn’t sleep a wink!: to sleep for even a very brief time.
Wink: guiño – parpadeo
I am not going to lose any sleep over it: if there is
an issue that you simply don’t care about at all
To get some R&R: rest and relaxation