IELTS Speaking for Success - 💤 Sleep (S10E19) + Transcript

Episode Date: May 19, 2024

How many hours do you usually sleep at night? Do you sometimes sleep during the day? Why/Why not? What do you do if you can’t get to sleep at night? Why? Do you ever remember the dreams you’ve had while you were sleeping? Tune in and have a great day! - Get exclusive episodes on IELTS Speaking parts 1, 2, and 3: https://linktr.ee/sfspremium Book a class with Rory here: https://successwithielts.com/rory Our course on Phrasal Verbs: https://successwithielts.com/podcourses Transcript: https://successwithielts.com/s10e19 Find an IELTS Speaking Partner: https://links.successwithielts.com/ieltspartner Our social media: https://linktr.ee/successwithielts © 2024 Podcourses Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello, lovely. I'm Maria. And my name is Rory, and we are the hosts of the IEL Speaking for Success podcast. The podcast that aims to help you improve your speaking skills, as well as your listening skills along the way. We've started this podcast to give you gorgeous grammar and fabulous vocabulary for your high IEL score. Your band night's score. Oh, wow. Did you get enough sleep last night? Well, I finally got eight hours of sleep. It took me three days. Ah.

It's a joke. Oh, wow. Shall we talk about sleep? Let's talk about sleep. Do you listener, did you get the joke? I finally got eight hours of sleep. It took me three days. So I kind of like, I didn't sleep for three days and then I slept for eight hours. Ha-ha. Rory, isn't it fine?

How many? Hilarious, let's move on. How many hours do you usually sleep at night? I try to aim for a solid eight hours, but in reality it's probably closer to six or seven and a half with all the tossing and turning and waking up in the middle of the night that frequently happens. Do you sometimes sleep during the day?

Oh, I'd almost never. Whenever I've done that in the past, I always felt really groggy and just unable to process or focus on things. It's like being dead on your feet. Definitely not for me. What do you do if you can't get to sleep at night? Well, I never used to do this until my friend, who is a doctor, a qualified doctor, suggested it. But if I pop a mild antihistamine before bed, then that does the trick just fine.

I should say, it's not a common occurrence for me, just every now and then. Do you ever remember the dreams you've had while you were sleeping? I sometimes have vague recollections, but nothing in detail. I do remember when I've had a lucid dream, though. I always feel amazing after one of those. Similarly, if I've had a nightmare, while I might not remember the exact details, I usually still feel I'm ill at ease afterward. Dear listener, we have our premium episodes for you where Rory and I are discussing fresh new IOTS speaking topics. Part 2 and part 3. This week in our premium episodes

Rory is describing an outdoor activity he did in a new place recently. And in speaking, part three, we are discussing outdoor activities in general. We give you super grammar, okay, Billory, to check them out, the link is in the discussion. So, dear listener, we sleep at night, we go to sleep, and Rory aims to sleep for a solid eight hours. here solid means like for eight hours, like exactly eight hours. Yeah, true. Well, I think solid here means eight hours without waking up. So it's like without interruptions.

Yeah. Or you can say like I usually sleep for a solid seven hours or for a solid five hours. Careful, an article, a solid five hours, seven hours. But in reality, it's probably. probably about like six hours, seven hours, seven hours and a half. What's this tossing and turning? That's just when you move around in your bed because you're trying to get comfortable or trying to relax.

And it's always tossing and turning. It's not turning and tossing. It's a binomial. Yay, you toss and turn in your sleep. Or before you go to sleep, before kind of you fall asleep, you do tossing and turning like what verb do we use I think it's more you are tossing and turning

because of the I-N-G I'm tossing and turning or you can say like oh usually I sleep for seven hours with all the tossing and turning sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night okay sometimes we sleep during the day

it's called a nap So to have a nap Or a siesta Oh yeah and do we take a siesta Have a siesta Sleep the siesta I don't know You'd need to talk to a Spanish person

But you definitely take a nap or have a nap So I'm assuming that you have a siesta Or take a siesta So you can paraphrase the question The examiner asks Do you sometimes sleep during the day And you say yeah sometimes I take a nap Or I never take naps

During the day I've always felt really groggy. Grogi is like this drink, Grog. Grogi. I think what I mean is very tired, like even worse, tired and

unable to focus. Like, bleh, that's groggy. There's the scientific explanation for that word. And the Cambridge Dictionary explanation is weak and unable to think clearly or walk correctly, usually because of tiredness or illness.

For example, I felt a little bit groggy after the operation. Or when I woke up, I felt a little groggy. And usually I also feel this. Yeah, actually, I feel terribly groggy after I take a nap. So that's why I never take naps. It's like being dead on your feet. Nice, Rory. Yeah, like a zombie.

Mm-hmm. It's not a nice feeling. I would, this is something I try to avoid a great deal. So taking a nap during the day for me is like being dead on my feet. Okay? Like a zombie. Like I feel like a zombie after taking a nap. There you go, you'll listen.

We fall asleep or we can't get to sleep. It's just when you're lying in your bed for hours and you can't fall asleep. Or for example, you can say that I fall asleep. quickly. Yeah, Rory? Yeah, there's an expression for this. What's the expression? Out like a light. Could you give us a sentence?

Yeah, well, it will not apply to me, but sometimes when you put your head on the pillow, you're out like a light. You are out like a light, yeah? So you're kind of like, you are out, you fall asleep, quickly, as if you turn off the light. You are out like a light. Yeah, dear listener, and you can say, usually I don't have any problems. problems falling to sleep. Very often I'm out like a light. Especially after a long walk or after going to the gym, I'm out like a light. So I fall asleep very quickly. Or you can say, sometimes I lie in bed for hours. So lie in bed, not lay, not lied, lie in bed. So Rory, what did your doctor

suggest? Well, he's not my doctor. He's just a friend who is a doctor. If you take or if you pop, especially for pills, the verb is pop. If you take antihistamines before bed, then it will put you to sleep or help you get to sleep. Really? So they like pills? Yes. I'm not suggesting that this is a long-term solution. This is something that you do every now and then. It's not like something you should be doing every single night because that is an indication that there's something really, really wrong with you getting to sleep. And you said like, if I pop, pop like if I take some pills, Yeah.

Can you use like pop with some pills? If I pop some pills. Yes. Like take some medicine, pop some pills. Pop some pills. Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop. This does the trick, the listener. So Rory just eats some medicine.

Yum, yum, yum. I don't think I go yum, yum, yum when I take my pet. No, yum, yum, yum, yum. Oh, yes, sleeping pills. Mmm, delicious. More like, like, I should do this in order to sleep, so I am not exhausted tomorrow. There we go.

That's the logic. Can I say if I pop some sleeping pills, they do the trick. So I fall asleep instantly. Yes? Yeah, if you don't do it often, it's not a common occurrence. So I don't often do it.

It's not really common for me. I kind of do it once and a while. Yeah. Every now and then. Oh my, every now and then. It's another binomial. It's almost like they occur all the time in English. Yeah, so we

discuss this with all the tossing and turning. I usually sleep for seven hours. Every now and then. I do it every now and then. We have dreams and sometimes we remember our dreams while we are sleeping. Sometimes we don't.

How to paraphrase, remember? You can say, I have some recollections about my dreams. Or I have some vague recollections. so I don't have like exact recollections, memories. But it's not just for dreams. You could use this for any time you have to remember something

or you're asked a question about remembering something. Oh, I have a vague recollection. Yeah, for example, what about your one of your birthday parties in Moscow? Give us a sentence with recollections. Well, I only ever had one really big birthday party in Moscow and I definitely have very vague recollections of that because of the amount of alcohol we were drinking. Also, you can say, I do remember, like I really remember, I do remember when I have a nightmare, so a bad dream, or when I had a lucid dream.

So a lucid dream is when you can control your dream, yeah? Yeah, it's when you just realize you're dreaming and then you do lots of crazy things because you haven't, what's the word? You haven't... No, it's not... You haven't done anything. You can control things. I don't understand how lucid dreaming works. I'm not sure anybody does.

Also, you can use the present perfect here. I do remember when I've had a nightmare. I have had a nightmare. Or I do remember when I've had a lucid dream. I usually still feel at ease. So, to feel at ease, ease, ease or ease? Ill at ease. Ease.

Yeah. Uncomfortable. Ah, okay. So not just at ease, but feel ill at ease. Is it a set phrase to feel ill at ease? Because we have an expression to feel at ease. Yeah. And so to feel ill at ease would be the opposite, I suppose.

Yes, dear listen. Be ill, ill like illness, yeah? To be ill at ease. C too, proficiency. And it's an idiom, dear listen. Wow. Is to be worried. Oh my God.

And not relaxed. I know. Bad night vocabulary. If only there was a course on idioms that we were working on. Yes, de list, now. We are creating a course on idioms for you. Wow, I know. So, for example, so be ill at ease.

He seemed ill at ease and didn't look himself. Okay? Or, for example, I've just had a horrible nightmare and I still feel ill at ease. Rory, could you give us a sentence about you? I still feel, I usually feel ill at ease after a nightmare. What about after an exam? Can you feel ill at ease or after a massive party? I think most people feel at ease after an exam

because their stress has gone away. It's done now. Yeah, you see, the expression is feel at ease is actually good. It's like relaxed. Oh, I felt completely at ease. So I was relaxed, you know, I was happy. like after the interview I felt at ease

not ill at ease okay Rory what does it mean if I say I'm a light sleeper Does it not mean that you have Like it's really easy for someone to wake you up I think so Yeah

Like maybe dear listener you are Are you a light sleeper Because kind of like you sleep and If there are any noises You can have a and you just wake up You know If like someone is snoring next to you also wake up.

But if I'm not a light sleeper, if nothing can wake me up, even like, I don't know, hippos, elephants can't wake me up, who am I? What kind of sleeper am I? I guess you'd sleep like a log, don't you? Or like a tree?

Can I say I'm a heavy sleeper? Oh yeah, you could say that, actually, couldn't you? Heavy sleep. Heavy sleeper. Yeah, sleep like a log is like when you are tired, and then you kind of sleep deeply, yeah, like I slept like a log. Like a piece of wood. Yeah, unable to get up by yourself.

Like to be a heavy sleeper when nobody can wake you up and to be a light sleeper when like everything can, like even the slightest noise wakes you. Okay. Like I'm such a heavy sleeper. Like nothing could wake me up. Right, so shall we wrap up with a joke? Let's wrap up with the joke.

So you've been waiting for a job? Have I? What? Nothing, tell us the joke, it's fine. What does James Bond do before he goes to sleep? Oh God, what? He goes under cover. Oh, dear listen, cover.

What is a cover when we talk about sleep, Rory, what's a cover? It's the thing you pull over yourself to stay warm at night. Yeah, so you have your own. bed and you have a cover to cover yourself okay and in this joke we have James Bond and he's

undercover Rory could you explain this? Well what does it mean to be under cover it means you're a spy on a secret mission I don't feel any enthusiasm Rory in your explanation because I don't like the joke why that is good

come on I like how into the joke you are. That's nice. But I'm not. Yeah, it's pretty dreadful, they'll listen to be honest with you. It is pretty dreadful, yes. Thank you for listening to the episode. Bye. Bye. How many hours do you usually sleep at night? I try to aim for a solid eight hours, but in reality it's probably closer to six or seven and a half with all the tossing and turning and waking up in the middle of the night that frequently happens. Do you sometimes sleep

during the day? Oh, I almost never. Whenever I've done that in the past, I always felt really groggy and just unable to process or focus on things. It's like being dead on your feet. Definitely not for me. What do you do if you can't get to sleep at night? Well, I never used to do this until my friend, who is a doctor, a qualified doctor, suggested it. But if I pop a mild antihistamine before bed, then that does the trick just fine. I should say, it's not a common occurrence for me. just every now and then. Do you ever remember the dreams you've had while you were sleeping? I sometimes have vague recollections, but nothing in detail.

I do remember when I've had a lucid dream, though. I always feel amazing after one of those. Similarly, if I've had a nightmare, while I might not remember the exact details, I usually still feel ill at ease afterward.