teetering between sleep and wakefulness

[alpacinou]

Hello.

I want to express the idea that someone had a rough night and they were sleep then awoke and then sleep again and so on.

Is "teeter" the right verb?

Is this correct and natural?

I was teetering between sleep and wakefulness all night.

How can I make it better?

 

[emsr2d2]

We don't usually collocate just "teetering" and "between". The common phrase is "teetering on the brink of". I'll keep thinking about how I might word it.

 

[Silverobama]

Hi.

I'm not a native speaker. But I once read a phrase in my old textbook and the phrase is okay in English.

I tossed and turned all night. (Toss and turn.)

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Hello.

I want to express the idea that someone had a rough night. They were asleep then awoke and then went to sleep again and so on.

Is "teeter" the right verb?

Is this correct and natural?

I was teetering between sleep and wakefulness all night.

How can I make it better?

You could only use teetering if you were never quite asleep or awake, always just somewhere in between, on the brink.

Better:

- I went in out of sleep all night.
- I kept waking up and going back to sleep all night.
- I woke up and fell asleep again over and over.
- I kept waking up all night long.
- I only slept for a few minutes at a time all last night.

 

[teechar]

I tossed and turned all night. (Toss and turn.)

That's good. Use it.

 

[alpacinou]

Can I use seesaw or oscillate?


I was oscillating / seesawing between sleep and wakefulness all night.

 

[teechar]

I think "seesawing" doesn't sound so bad, but "oscillating" doesn't work for me, because "oscillate" suggests a more regular/rhythmical motion.

 

[Tarheel]

Can I use seesaw or oscillate?


I was oscillating / seesawing between sleep and wakefulness all night.

No wonder you couldn't get to sleep if you were seesawing. Get off the seesaw and get in bed.
;-)

 

[alpacinou]

Can I also use the word "consciousness"?

I.....in and out of consciousness. It's like I was consciousness for a few minutes...then I dozed off and then I became conscious again.

I need a verb for that sentence.

 

[Tarheel]

You might say:

I moved between wakefulness and sleep.

 

[tedmc]

Or "alternate between wakefulness and sleep".

 

[alpacinou]

I was told by a non-native speaker that I can use the world "ether" in this situation. Is that correct?

Does this work?

He was going back and forth in that ether between sleep and wakefulness, between reality and fantasy.

 

[tedmc]

I would delete "in that either".

 

[Tarheel]

I was told by a non-native speaker that I can use the world "ether" in this situation. Is that correct?

Does this work?

He was going back and forth in that ether between sleep and wakefulness, between reality and fantasy.

In the right situation that might work. Is he in bed?

 

[Tarheel]

You do not want, I think, to be falling asleep and waking up, then falling back to sleep and waking up again. But it happens sometimes.

 

[tedmc]

You do not want, I think, to be falling asleep and waking up, then falling back to sleep and waking up again. But it happens sometimes.

I think it is not just about toggling between "on or off" state for a light sleeper. It could be somewhere in between, as in "shallow/light" sleep as distinct from "deep sleep".

 

[Tarheel]

I wake up several times a night. I don't think that's what the OP is talking about though.

 

[alpacinou]

Yes. The person is in bed. So, does this work well?

John was in bed. He was going back and forth in that ether between sleep and wakefulness, between reality and fantasy. He could hear his children but he could not touch them.
This is about a man who has recently gotten divorce and hasn't gotten the custody of his children. He misses his children and he sees them in his dreams.

 

[Tarheel]

Yes. The person is in bed. So, does this work well?

John was in bed. He was going back and forth in that ether between sleep and wakefulness, between real and unreal. He could hear his children but, he could not touch them.
This is about a man who has recently gotten divorced and hasn't gotten [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] custody of his children. He misses his children and he sees them in his dreams.

See my suggestions/corrections above.

What do think about the real/unreal suggestion?

 

[alpacinou]

See my suggestions/corrections above.

What do think about the real/unreal suggestion?

I like it. Thank you.