Come Sleep! O Sleep, the certain knot of peace,
The baiting place of wit, the balm of woe,
The poor man's wealth, the prisoner's release,
The baiting place of wit, the balm of woe,
The poor man's wealth, the prisoner's release,
— Sir Philip Sidney
Tropes about falling asleep, being asleep, waking up, and staying awake.
Compare Rest and Relaxation Tropes. Not to be confused with hypnosis (despite the etymology of that term).
Tropes:
Sub-index:
- Adventures in Comaland: Dreaming while unconscious as opposed to regular sleep.
- Angst Coma: An extremely stressful or traumatic event results in someone falling into a deep state of sleep or unconsciousness.
- Asleep for Days: Someone falls asleep for days after a bad experience.
- Asleep in Class: A student falling asleep in class.
- Asleep, Not Meditating: A seemingly meditating person is actually asleep.
- Awkward First Sleepover: A character is nervous because it's their first slumber party.
- Beautiful Dreamer: A person thinks their partner looks beautiful when they're asleep.
- Bedmate Reveal: A person wakes up surprised to see that someone else is in their bed.
- Bedtime Brainwashing: Someone tries to manipulate someone else's dreams or thoughts when that person is asleep.
- Bizarre Dream Rationalization: Character believes they're dreaming.
- Blanket Tug O' War: Two people in the same bed fight over the blankets.
- Breakfast in Bed: Waking up to being served the first meal of the day.
- Catapult Nightmare: Someone wakes from a nightmare by falling out of bed or sitting up abruptly.
- Catching Some Z's: "Z"s fly out of a snoring character's mouth.
- Clingy Sleepers: Two characters who are usually not in a relationship have to share the bed, and end up cuddling.
- Comforting Comforter: Someone puts a blanket on a sleeping person to warm them up.
- Comical Nap Drool: Someone drooling in their sleep is Played for Laughs.
- Converse with the Unconscious: A person talks to someone who is asleep, usually their Love Interest.
- Counting Sheep: Someone imagines sheep jumping over a fence and counts them in order to fall asleep.
- Dangerous Drowsiness: Feeling tired is a very bad sign.
- Deep Sleep: Someone in a very deep sleep.
- Don't Wake the Sleeper: Waking a sleeping person is a bad idea.
- Dream Emergency Exit: If the type of "exit" involves waking up or being forced to wake up.
- Dreary Half-Lidded Eyes: The half-mast eyes of someone who desperately needs sleep.
- Dude, She's Like in a Coma: Kissing or having sex with someone who's unconscious.
- Dying to Wake Up: Dying in a dream instantly wakes you up.
- Embarrassing Damp Sheets: Having a Potty Failure, a wet dream, or leaking menstrual blood in one's sleep.
- Embarrassing Pyjamas: Someone is embarrassed by or teased for their pyjamas.
- Evil Takes a Nap: When a monster or some sort of evil creature is dormant because they are in a deep sleep.
- Exhausted Eye Bags: A character who didn't get enough sleep has bags under their eyes.
- Exhaustion-Induced Idiocy: A lack of sleep takes a toll on a character's mental capacity.
- Face Doodling: Drawing on a sleeping or unconscious person's face.
- Faceplanting into Food: A character falls asleep into their food.
- Faked Rip Van Winkle: Convincing someone they have been asleep for a long time.
- Fell Asleep Crying: A character cries for long enough to fall asleep.
- Fell Asleep Driving: A sleepy character falls asleep behind the wheel of a vehicle (car, boat, plane, etc.)
- Fell Asleep Standing Up: An exhausted character falls asleep standing up, yet doesn't fall down.
- Food Coma: Getting sleepy from eating too much.
- Forced Sleep: A spell or power that makes its victims fall asleep.
- Fright-Induced Bunkmate: Someone is scared due to nightmares or fear of the dark and wants to sleep in someone else's bedroom.
- Getting the Baby to Sleep: Someone does something ridiculous in order to make a baby be quiet or fall asleep.
- "Getting Ready for Bed" Plot: A story where the whole plot is about getting ready for bed.
- Glass Jaw Referee: A referee getting easily knocked out in a wrestling match.
- Good Morning, Crono: A Kid Hero in a video game starts their adventure waking up in bed.
- Go-to-Sleep Ending: The story ends with one or more characters asleep.
- Heavy Sleeper: Someone who has Deep Sleep whenever they're asleep.
- Hospital Epilogue: The story ends with a character waking up in a hospital bed.
- Hunger Causes Lethargy: Someone is hungry and it makes them tired, even though it clearly isn't malnutrition or low blood sugar.
- The Insomniac: Someone who cannot sleep.
- Insomnia Episode: An episode of a series that focuses on a character being unable to sleep.
- Instant Sedation: Someone instantly conks out after being sedated — how convenient!
- Instant Waking Skills: The opposite of Not a Morning Person — someone who doesn't feel groggy upon waking.
- Insulted Awake: Waking someone up by insulting them.
- Kidnapped While Sleeping: A character is stolen right from their bed.
- Lap Pillow: Someone sleeps in their lover's or best friend's lap.
- Lazy Dragon: Dragons spend a great deal of time sleeping, and many act lazy and sleepy even when awake.
- Loud Sleeper Gag: A character begins to make loud noises while asleep, which disturbs other characters.
- Morning Routine: Story begins with the hero waking up to start their day.
- Murphy's Bed: A bed that traps the person on it in the middle like a bear trap.
- Nap-Inducing Speak: Someone falls asleep when someone else is doing a speech because they find the speech boring.
- Never Sleep Again: Someone gets killed in their sleep. Don't sleep to avoid being next.
- Never Wake Up a Sleepwalker: Waking up a sleepwalker is bad.
- The Night Owl: A person who prefers to be awake at night, rather than during the day.
- Nocturnal Emission: Ejaculating in one's sleep.
- Not a Morning Person: Someone is groggy when they first wake up.
- Not Staying for Breakfast: Two characters have sex and one stays the night, but doesn't stay for breakfast.
- Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep: A child says the "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" prayer before going to bed.
- An Odd Place to Sleep: Someone sleeps in a weird place.
- Overworked Sleep: Someone falls asleep during work.
- Pajama-Clad Hero: The hero is in their pyjamas for all or most of the plot.
- Passed in Their Sleep: Someone dies in their sleep.
- Percussive Prevention: A person knocks someone out to prevent them doing something dangerous.
- Pillow Pistol: Someone hides a weapon under their pillow.
- Pillow Silencer: Someone uses a pillow as an improvised silencer.
- Pivotal Wake Up: A supernatural character levitates themselves awake.
- Plot-Powered Stamina: Someone doesn't get tired even if they don't get enough sleep by human standards.
- Post Tantrum Sleep: Falling asleep after a fit of rage.
- Post Wakeup Realization: Someone half-awake becomes fully awake after realizing something is amiss.
- Prefers Rocks to Pillows: Someone used to sleeping in poor conditions finds it hard to sleep in a normal bed.
- Really Fond of Sleeping: Someone who really likes sleeping and taking naps to the point that it's their favourite pastime.
- Resting Recovery: A video game character's health meter regenerates if they're asleep.
- Reveille: Someone plays a military tune to wake someone up.
- Rip Van Tinkle: Needing to pee after being asleep for a long time.
- Rip Van Winkle: A character sleeps for several decades.
- Rousing Lullaby: A lullaby that is anything but soothing.
- Safe Under Blankets: Being under your blankets means you're automatically safe.
- Senior Sleep-Cycle: An old person sleeps a lot.
- Slain in Their Sleep: Someone is murdered in their sleep.
- Slap Yourself Awake: Someone hurts themselves to keep themselves awake.
- Sleep Aesop: An Aesop that teaches the importance of sleep.
- Sleep Cute: Some people sleeping close to one another in a cute way.
- Sleep Deprivation: Characters can't fall asleep, either by choice or because of external factors.
- Sleep Deprivation Punishment: Someone is deprived of sleep as punishment, abuse or torture.
- Sleeping Dummy: Someone puts a dummy of themselves in bed to escape.
- Sleep Learning: Someone tries to learn information in their sleep.
- The Sleepless: Someone doesn't need to sleep.
- Sleepless Alarm Clock: Someone finally gets to sleep after being up all night only for their alarm clock to go off.
- Sleep Mask: Someone wearing a sleep mask that says something about their personality.
- Sleep-Mode Size: Someone shrinks when they're sleeping.
- Sleep Paralysis Creature: People who suffer from the nightmarish hallucinations associated with sleep paralysis often imagine seeing some sort of creepy monster.
- Sleeps in the Nude: Someone wears nothing to bed.
- Sleep Squashing: Someone squashes someone else in their sleep.
- Sleeps with Both Eyes Open: Someone sleeps with both eyes open.
- Sleepwalking: Walking in one's sleep.
- Sleepy Depressive: A mentally unsound person who sleeps a lot (or spends a lot of time in bed).
- Sleepy Enemy: Enemies that prefer to sleep, only fighting when disturbed.
- Sleepyhead: Someone who keeps falling asleep randomly or always seems tired.
- Slept Through the Apocalypse: Someone sleeps through an apocalypse.
- Slumber Party: A party where the people invited sleep the night (usually women or girls).
- Snot Bubble: Someone's nose runs in their sleep.
- Soundtrack Lullaby: As someone is sleeping/falling asleep, the soundtrack plays a lullaby-like tune.
- Supering in Your Sleep: Someone uses their superpowers in their sleep.
- Synchronized Morning Routine: Two or more characters' morning routines are shown mirrored in the same scene.
- Talking in Your Sleep: Someone speaks aloud in their sleep.
- Tap on the Head: Someone is knocked unconscious by being hit on the head without suffering any permanent injury.
- Taunting the Unconscious: Someone taunts someone who's unconscious.
- There Are No Bedsheets: Sleeping without covering themselves with bedsheets, in video games.
- There Is Only One Bed: Two people who are not together must share a bed as there is only one available.
- Tired After the Song: A song makes a character sleepy.
- Triple Shifter: Someone doesn't get enough sleep because they're too busy with multiple jobs.
- Tummy Cushion: One character sleeps on a larger one's tummy.
- Undressing the Unconscious: A character awakes to find their clothes have been changed or removed while they were sleeping.
- Vampires Sleep in Coffins: Vampires prefer coffins as resting places.
- Vorpal Pillow: Someone suffocates someone else with a pillow.
- Wacky Waterbed: Someone bounces and/or ruptures a waterbed.
- Wake Up Fighting: Someone wakes up holding a weapon or trying to fight.
- Wake Up Make Up: Someone wakes up with makeup on.
- Waking Non Sequitur: Someone says a nonsensical sentence upon waking up from a dream.
- Waking Up at the Morgue: A character awakens in a place where the dead are kept.
- Waking Up Elsewhere: Someone wakes up in a place that's not the place they fell asleep.
- Warm Milk Helps You Sleep: Trouble sleeping? Drink some warm milk.
- Warm Water Whiz: Putting a character’s hand in warm water makes them wet the bed.
- Water Wake-up: Someone wakes up an unconscious or sleeping character with water.
- What Did I Do Last Night?: Somebody wakes up in a strange situation, unsure of how they got there.
- Woken Up at an Ungodly Hour: A character is annoyed at being woken too late or too early.
- You Wake Up in a Room: A character wakes up in an unfamiliar place at the beginning of the story.
- You Wake Up on a Beach: Someone wakes up on the beach with no recollection of how they got there.
