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  1. alpacinoutd

    alpacinoutd Senior Member

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    to be between sleep and wakefulness

    Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by alpacinoutd, Sep 16, 2020.

    Hello all.

    I want to express the idea that someone had a rough night and they were sleep then awoke and then sleep again and so on.

    Can I use seesaw or oscillate?

    Is this correct and natural?

    I was oscillating / seesawing between sleep and wakefulness all night.

    If that doesn't work, how can I express the idea?
     
  2. Malisky

    Malisky Malkatorean Contributor

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    Recalculating...
    "Oscillating" works better.
     
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  3. alpacinoutd

    alpacinoutd Senior Member

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    Is this completely okay?

    I was oscillating between sleep and wakefulness all night.

    Is there a better way to express the idea?
     
  4. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Waves caressing a shore, up into the warm sands of wakefulness, and back again to the cool embrace of sleep. The susurration of dreams are children on the shore, laughing indistinctly, calling names only almost understood.
     
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  5. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    I'd use "tipping" since people usually "fall" asleep and tipping implies almost falling but not quite.
     
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  6. alpacinoutd

    alpacinoutd Senior Member

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    Great as always...:superagree:
     
  7. alpacinoutd

    alpacinoutd Senior Member

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    How do you use "tip" in a full sentence?
     
  8. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    I was tipping between sleep and wakefulness all night?
     
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  9. alpacinoutd

    alpacinoutd Senior Member

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    Can I also use the word "consciousness"?

    I.....in and out of consciousness.
    It's like I was consciousness for a few minutes...then I dozed off and then I became conscious again.

    I need a verb for that sentence.
     
  10. Whitecrow

    Whitecrow Active Member

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    I have insomnia.
    In my experience. If you don't get enough sleep, then everything floats before your eyes. You fall asleep on the go. You slow down and get out of reality.

    But the strangest thing is how I call it hallucinations. A state when a dream is superimposed on reality.
    You don't want to sleep in this state, probably because you are half asleep, but it feels like someone is playing with the shaders of the world.

    The world around can become black and white, or vice versa, the colors will become very bright. To me it was such that I saw cracks everywhere, another time just black spots everywhere, the third time the stars twinkled everywhere.
    If you concentrate your vision, the illusion disappears, but having relaxed your eyes, you again begin to see what is not there. Usually these are simple images that are superimposed on reality.

    To get the effect, you need to sleep 2-3 hours a day during the week.


    As I understand it, the reason for this is that part of the brain decides to rest despite the fact that the person has woken up. At the same time, some part of the brain is asleep and the other is awake. As a result, dream and reality begin to fold together in the brain, the dream adjusts to what the eyes see and complement the picture with images.

    Principle like augmented reality games (AR games)
     
  11. Aled James Taylor

    Aled James Taylor Contributor Contributor

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    The word 'doze' might be useful.
     
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  12. OurJud

    OurJud Contributor Contributor

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    In and out of sleep. That would sound the most natural to me, and it’s how I would describe the occurrence if I was verbally relating a poor night’s sleep to another person.
     
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  13. JuliaBrune

    JuliaBrune Member

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    The process isn't symmetrical so from my own experience I usually keep slipping into unconsciousness only to bounce out again (confused, scared and restless)
     
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  14. Seven Crowns

    Seven Crowns Moderator Staff Supporter Contributor Contest Winner 2022

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    I spent a fitful night trapped in my thoughts, drifting off at odd moments only to jolt back awake.

    "Fitful" is the word you want. Just say you spent a fitful night, and embellish it however.
     
  15. alpacinoutd

    alpacinoutd Senior Member

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    I like your suggestion.

    I would appreciate it if others also let me know what they think about this:

    John arrived home, his eyes hollow and rimmed in black. He crashed on the bed to get the one hundred hours of sleep he needed but he had no idea what the night had in store for him. He kept slipping into unconsciousness only to bounce out again, restless and helpless. It didn't take long to realize he was in for a rough, long night.
     
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  16. alpacinoutd

    alpacinoutd Senior Member

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    I also learned the word "ether" and wrote this:

    John was in bed. He was going back and forth in that ether between sleep and wakefulness, between real and unreal. He could hear his children but, he could not touch them.

    I would appreciate if you would tell me what you think about what I have written in the last 2 posts.

    Since I am not a native speaker, I can't tell if they work or not.
     
  17. alpacinoutd

    alpacinoutd Senior Member

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    Are these two so bad?:superfrown:

    1. John arrived home, his eyes hollow and rimmed in black. He crashed on the bed to get the one hundred hours of sleep he needed but he had no idea what the night had in store for him. He kept slipping into unconsciousness only to bounce out again, restless and helpless. It didn't take long to realize he was in for a rough, long night.

    2. John was in bed. He was going back and forth in that ether between sleep and wakefulness, between the real and the unreal. He could hear his children but, he could not touch them.
     
  18. Rosacrvx

    Rosacrvx Contributor Contributor

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    "to be between sleep and wakefulness"

    I refer to this state as semi-consciousness. When I don't want to be poetic.
    No idea if it means the same in English so take it with a grain of salt.

    I'm surprised no one called it that, so maybe it doesn't work in English?...
     
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  19. Maddy Knight

    Maddy Knight Member

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    Drifting is my fave. She drifted between sleep and wakefulness.
     
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  20. DriedPen

    DriedPen Member

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    I like to use the word "Fitful"...as in "for the last four years, every night has meant a fitful night of sleep for me."

    Sadly, a 2fer on that one. A truthful statement by me unfortunately, and using the word I describe my sleep, in a sentence.
     
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  21. Thundair

    Thundair Contributor Contributor

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    I've used phased...
    I phased into sleep and awake again.
    I phased in and out of sleep. Awake again, is there no end.
     
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  22. egwriter

    egwriter Member

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    I like this
     
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  23. egwriter

    egwriter Member

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    Why not intertwine it into the thoughts or visions they had through-out the night? Something like:

    I was standing on the edge of a tall building looking out across the dark city. The wind began to nudge me but I didn't back away because the cool wind felt good on my skin and I felt free. Suddenly fear washed over me as the wind pushed me harder and that's when I suddenly awoke.

    I was only momentarily overrun with a sense of panic until it was evaporated by the recollection of the sense of freedom I had just experienced. When I laid back down in awe of this uplifting sensation; I eased right back into sleep.

    This time I was on a plane. I wasn't seated next to anyone and it seemed darker than an airplane should be. I unbuckled my lap belt and stood up and found the plane was empty. I walked towards the front of the craft and found no one. I started to panic and although I wasn't comfortable knocking on the cockpit door; I felt as though I had to. When my knuckles made contact with the door, the door swung open and there was no one there. Without expectation, lights started to flash and buzzers started to hum. I felt the plane dive towards the Earth which caused me to lose my balance. I fell and instead of hitting the floor; it felt like I landed on me bed. I leaned up and I was covered in sweat. I'm starting to think I'm not going to get any sleep tonight.
     
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