Time for a sleep?
So we all know that Inuits have lots of words for snow - of course this makes sense because snow has many different functions and properties, all useful to distinguish when your an Inuit. In Britain we have lots of words for sleep. As the 8th nation that sleeps the most I guess it´s important to us.
A doze, a nap, a kip, 40 winks, a snooze, a cat nap, take a siesta, a bit of shut-eye, bo-boes, bye byes, to drowse, have a lie-down, have some z´es, a nod.
It´s curious to note, unlike the inuits all of these words are synonymous, they have the same meaning. They all refer specifically to a short sleep, the sleep equivalent of a snack. While we are not renowned for our siestas, having a kip in an armchair after lunch on a Sunday is quite normal (especially to those over 40 ;) ).
8 hours is recognised as a healthy sleep. For some of us 10 hours is perfect while others need 7. I know 8 hours will destroy my day and 7 leaves me fresh as a daisy.
What about you, how many hours sleep do you prefer? Do you like a little nap? What´s the sleep culture in your country and how many sleep words do you have?
15 juin 2018
