Common expressions to talk about sleep in Italian

Have you ever felt that despite all your efforts your language knowledge doesn’t want to hear about improving?

The reality is that many factors can affect language learing, among others motivation, stress, your native language, etc.

According to research also sleep has a great role in the way we learn.

So, in this article you’ll learn how sleeping well can help you improve your knowledge of Italian. You’ll also learn some of the most common words related to sleep in Italian.

WHY SLEEPING WELL IS GOOD FOR LEARNING

There has been many research about how sleep can affect learning. And up till now all researchers seem to agree that sleeping well has at least three benefits for our learning abilities.

Firstly, sleeping well allows us to be more relaxed and focused on learning new material.

Secondly, it can improve our mood. As a consequence we’re more eager to learn, and also more motivated.

Finally, sleeping well also allows us to consolidate our memory. In short, it helps us memorize what we’ve acquired during the day.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO IMPROVE OUR SLEEP

Here some things that can help us improve our sleep:

1. We should expose ourselves to sunlight as we wake up and try to spend more time outside during the day. This should helps us regulate the production of melatonine, a hormone that helps regulate our sleep-wake cycle.
2. We should exercise during the day, even a 30 minutes walk can work.
3. We should not drink caffeine in the evening.
4. When we go to bed we should be sure we’ve turned off every light in the room.
5. We should try to keep a regular sleep-wake schedule.

WORDS RELATED TO SLEEP IN ITALIAN

Se alle due del pomeriggio vi è venuto un abbiocco, e vi siete ritrovati con la testa a ciondoloni, è segno che siete stanchi e spossati: vi serve una bella pennichella per recuperare tutte le vostre energie.

As you can see from the text above, there are many words related to sleep in Italian. I’m going to explain some of them below.

COLPO DI SONNO
Colpo di sonno literally means a blow of sleep. In Italian, when someone falls asleep suddenly, we say that ha avuto un colpo di sonno.

Example:
Mentre era al lavoro gli è venuto un colpo di sonno e si è addormentato sulla scrivania
While he was at work he suddenly fell asleep on the desk

ABBIOCCO
Abbiocco in Italian means nodding off. There is also a verb related to this word that is abbioccarsi, to nod off.

Example:

Ho mangiato troppo e nel pomeriggio mi è venuto/partito un abbiocco
I ate too much and in the afternoon I nodded off

SONNELLINO, RIPOSINO, PENNICHELLA
Both sonnellino, riposino and pennichella mean the same thing in Italian: to take a nap.

Examples:

Ieri pomeriggio ho fatto un bel sonnellino/riposino
Ieri pomeriggio ho fatto una bella pennichella
Yesterday afternoon I took a nap

FARE LA NANNA
This is an expression Italians use when talking to babies and it means to go to bye-byes.

Example:

Dai, andiamo, è l’ora di fare la nanna
Come on, let’s go, it’s time to go to bye-byes

AVERE UN SONNO CANE
In Italian avere un sonno cane literally means to have a dog sleep. Idiomatically it means that you are asleep on your feet.

Example:

Ho un sonno cane, stanotte ho dormito solo due ore
I’m asleep on my feet, I slept only two hours last night

STARE MORENDO DI SONNO
Stare morendo di sonno literally means to be dying of sleep. Idiomatically, it means the same thing as the previous idiom, so to be asleep on your feet.

Example:

Sto morendo di sonno, stanotte ho dormito solo due ore
I’m asleep on my feet, I slept only two hours last night

DORME COME UN GHIRO
In Italian dormire come un ghiro literally means to sleep like a dormouse. Idiomatically, instead, it means to sleep like a rock.

Example:

Guardala! Dorme come un ghiro!
Look at her! She’s sleeping like a rock!

Actually, in Italian there’s also an idiomatic expression that is the same as the English one: dormire come un sasso – to sleep like a rock.

AVERE IL SONNO PROFONDO
When someone ha il sonno profondo – literally s/he has a deep sleep – it means that s/he doesn’t wake up easily.

Example:

Luigi ha il sonno profondo, non lo svegliano neanche le bombe!
Luigi is a heavy sleeper, even bombs can’t wake him up!

AVERE IL SONNO LEGGERO
Avere il sonno leggero – literally to have a light sleep – is the opposite of the previous expression. So, it means that someone wakes up easily.

Example:

Maria ha il sonno leggero, appena sente il minimo rumore si sveglia subito
Maria is a light sleeper, as soon as she hears the slightest noise, she immediately wakes up

Did you know these expressions related to sleep in Italian?

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Credits

Original image by Shingo_Nono 

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