broken sleep
Waking at night
Broken sleep is rest interrupted by periods of wakefulness rather than continuous slumber.
The phrase describes a night of repeated waking—from noise, anxiety, a restless child, or no clear cause: I got maybe four hours of broken sleep last night.
Unlike insomnia, which implies difficulty falling asleep at all, broken sleep emphasizes fragmentation.
- insomniaPersistent inability to rest
- restlessUnable to be still
- tossingLight underhand throw
- wakingRegaining consciousness from sleep
- fragmentedBroken into pieces
disturbed · fitful · interrupted · exhaustion · night · pillow · anxiety · night sweats · tired · groggy · 3am · early hours · wee hours · racing thoughts · wakeful · drowsy · bleary · wide awake
- sleepnap, doze, slumber, naps, snooze
- sleep problemsinsomnia, night terrors, hypersomnia, nightmares, restless legs
- sleep disruptionsinsomnia, jet lag, narcolepsy, hypersomnia, night shifts
broken sleepdeep sleep
Unconsciousness hard to rouse
restorative sleep · peaceful sleep · sleeping like a log · dead sleep · beauty sleep
broken, sleep, breaks, breaking, broke, unbroken, breakage, sleeps, sleeping