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Glite Dictionary
light sleep

light sleep

1 3.7
A short, shallow sleep you wake up easily from
  • noun
  • /laɪt sliːp/
translation icon : sueño ligero
  • Adam watches his grandfather pick at a sandwich, then close his eyes and fall into a light sleep.
  • light sleep stage
  • wake from a light sleep

It will tell you exactly how your sleep went last night, how many times you woke up, what your deep sleep was, how many hours of light sleep you got.

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Examples

  • Making many trips to the bathroom at night is a tip-off of light sleep and the possible need for medical diagnosis for poor respiratory ventilation.

    Blog text (23)

  • It will tell you exactly how your sleep went last night, how many times you woke up, what your deep sleep was, how many hours of light sleep you got.

    Alex Costa

  • It's fairly common to wake up in the light sleep phase in between and then go through another cycle.

  • People who suffer from insomnia, or those who wake up several times at night because they have very light sleep, find it almost impossible to lose weight.

    Blog text (12)

  • And some people can get so good at this that they could actually let their body move into a light sleep, and it's resting in a light sleep while they're awake and conscious.

    André Duqum

  • Although our findings show that a short period of light sleep may improve cognitive functioning and alertness in IM residents, they do not explain how or why that result may occur.

    Blog text (12)

  • Tires crunch against the crushed stone driveway, and a flash of headlights crosses Kent's bedroom window, waking him from a light sleep.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • She often wakes up from a light sleep at the sound of her baby crying.

  • After a few hours of light sleep, he felt refreshed and ready to start his day.

  • During the light sleep phase, people are easily disturbed by noise or movement.

Synonyms

nap
vslight sleep
371 1.0

A short sleep during the day

is a short shallow rest that avoids deep stages and wakes easily
snooze
vslight sleep
6 1.4

A short light sleep taken during the day, often not in bed

is the general short shallow rest regardless of timing
catnap
vslight sleep
5 3.5

A short light sleep during the day not in bed

is a short shallow rest not limited to daytime or place
forty winks
vslight sleep
  • Informal
1 7.2

A short sleep during the day, usually not in bed

is a short shallow rest rather than a vague casual rest

Antonyms

deep sleep
14 2.8

A heavy sleep when the body and mind rest and are not aware of surroundings

How Deep

deep sleep
14 2.8
light sleep
1 3.7
doze
1 2.8

Surface Forms

light sleep singular
light sleeps plural

Morphology

light + sleep

The adjective 'light' (of small intensity) combined with 'sleep' yields a directly compositional meaning of 'shallow or easily disturbed sleep' that a learner who knows both words can infer. This is a common, cross-linguistically attested descriptive pattern (e.g. 'sueño ligero', 'sommeil léger') and follows normal modifier + noun semantics, so a B1 learner would readily understand it.

Etymology

Light sleep uses light in the simple sense of 'not heavy', so the sleep is not deep and you wake up easily.