7 silly words to go to sleep laughing

Can you think of any words to help you go to sleep?

At Memory Foam Warehouse we love to talk about sleep. On the phone, in the pub, at the hairdressers … we can’t get enough of it. But for many people sleep isn’t a go-to topic.

Which we think is a bit of a shame.

So inspired by Dictionary Day on October 16th we’ve scoured the big wordy book from cover to cover in search of the longest, silliest sleep words to get the nation talking. We’ve even included examples of usage for your convenience. So get ready for some big laughs.

Weird Words Related to Sleep

We’ve searched the dictionary and found some weird results. Find a list of words related to sleep that you may not have heard of before...

1. Somnambulism

Pronounced: som ¦ nam ¦ boo ¦ liz ¦ um

Definition: Sleep-walking

e.g. Person 1: What did you get up to last night?

Person 2: Not much, I just went for a quick somnambulism

2. Nyctophobia

Pronounced: nik ¦ toe ¦ foe ¦ bee ¦ ah

Definition: Extreme fear of the dark

e.g. Hey guys, what animals don’t have nyctophobia? Owls! *Laughter* Hey guys, what animals don’t have nyctophobia? Bats! *Raucous laughter* Repeat using other nocturnal animals

3. Somniloquy

Pronounced: som ¦ nil ¦ oh ¦ kwee

Definition: Sleep-talking

e.g. My mum says I could somniloquy the hind legs off a donkey!

4. Hypnagogia

Pronounced: hip ¦ nah ¦ go ¦ ghee ¦ ah

Definition: The half-awake/asleep period before you drop off, characterised by lucid dreams

e.g. My mind was going crazy during hypnagogia last night darling – I thought you were a horse

5. Oneirology

Pronounced: oh ¦ nee ¦ eye ¦ rol ¦ oh ¦ gee

Definition: The study of dreams

e.g. Person 1: What do you study at university?

Person 2: Oneirology

Person 1: Wow – that sounds dreamy

Everyone: *Laughing*

6. Bruxism

Pronounced: br ¦ uh ¦ ks ¦ ism

Definition: The clenching or grinding of teeth during sleep

e.g. Husband: Your bruxism really grinds my gears

Wife: No kidding – it really grinds my teeth!

Both: *Intense laughter*

7. Hypnic Jerk

Pronounced: hip ¦ ni ¦ c ¦ j ¦ ur ¦ k

Definition: Involuntary muscle twitch when you’re falling asleep

e.g. My big toe did a crazy hypnic jerk last night

We think this is going to be the best Dictionary Day ever.

More Words to Describe Sleep

Getting bored of using the same word for sleep night after night? Try these sleep synonyms instead...

• State of rest
• Dose
• Nap
• Slumber
• Shut-eye
• Snooze
• Repose
• Hibernate
• Drift off
• Catch some z’s
• Forty winks
• Kip
• Hit the sack
• Hit the hay
• Turn in
• Konk out

We’ve even generated a list of adjectives to describe sleep…

• Deep sleep
• REM sleep
• Light sleep
• Broken sleep
• Dreamless sleep
• Restless sleep
• Sound asleep

Nod Off Easy with Memory Foam Warehouse

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