go to bed / go to sleep

[optimistic pessimist]

Hi all,
Are "go to bed" and "go to sleep" same in meaning?
Or are they different because "go to sleep" implies "fall asleep"?
OP

 

[emsr2d2]

Hi all.

Are "go to bed" and "go to sleep" the same in meaning no question mark here or are they different because "go to sleep" implies "fall asleep"?

They are not the same. "Go to bed" means "Go to your bedroom, get into your pyjamas and get into bed". The logical assumption is that, sometime after getting into bed, you'll fall asleep.
"Go to sleep" means "Fall asleep".

I think you knew this already!

 

[optimistic pessimist]

I thought I knew it, but suddenly I felt I wasn't sure because saying "I went to bed at 9 last night, but couldn't go to sleep until 11" sounds a little strange to me. Is this a good sentence?

 

[jutfrank]

Don't confuse fall asleep with go to sleep.

I went to bed at 9 last night but didn't fall asleep until 11.

 

[emsr2d2]

In that context, I'd be happy with either of them, and they would have the same meaning.

I went to bed at 9 but didn't go to sleep until 11.
I went to bed at 9 but didn't fall asleep until 11.

 

[GoesStation]

Americans may also have trouble getting to sleep.

 

[5jj]

So does this Brit.

 

[jutfrank]

In that context, I'd be happy with either of them, and they would have the same meaning.

I went to bed at 9 but didn't go to sleep until 11.
I went to bed at 9 but didn't fall asleep until 11.

The context in post #3 used couldn't, which in my opinion doesn't work with go to sleep.

I unhelpfully and unthinkingly changed couldn't to didn't, with which both work.

 

[emsr2d2]

The context in post #3 used couldn't, which in my opinion doesn't work with go to sleep.

I unhelpfully and unthinkingly changed couldn't to didn't, with which both work.

Aha, that makes sense. With "couldn't", I would use only "get to sleep".

 

[elizabethjohanson92]

Not a teacher

I guess both go to bed & go to sleep are fine. I always use both to tell my kids to sleep on their bamboo beds.

 

[Tdol]

But go to bed could be just to give the speaker some peace.

 

[emsr2d2]

Not a teacher

I guess both "go to bed" [STRIKE]&[/STRIKE] and "go to sleep" are fine. I [STRIKE]always[/STRIKE] use both to tell my kids to sleep on their bamboo beds.

Welcome to the forum. :hi:

Please note that I have added "Not a teacher" to your post. It's great that you want to help learners but you have to make it clear in your response that you're not a teacher. You can create a signature line to show that (you might not be able to create a signature line until you've made ten public posts) instead of having to write it at the start of every response.

Why do you need to "guess" that they're both right. Your profile says you're a native English speaker so I would expect you to have a clear idea of what's natural and what isn't in your variant of English.
I'm not sure what the relevance of bamboo beds is.

Also, please check your member profile. It shows your current location as the United States but your IP address comes back to a completely different country. Please ensure all the information in your profile is accurate.