Hello. Welcome to The English Like a Native Podcast. My name is Anna and you're listening to Week 28, Day Three of Your English Five a Day. Now, if this is your first time here, you've found a series that aims to increase your active vocabulary by deep diving into five items every day of the working week from Monday to Friday. We have an extra episode on Saturday and a bonus episode for Plus Members on a Sunday. Plus Members also get the transcripts and some weekend vocabulary lists sent to them in an email on Monday. If you're interested in becoming a Plus Member, please click on the link in the show notes. Let's start today's episode with the idiom, sleep like a log. Sleep like a log. We spell log, L O G, so you sleep, S L E E P, like a log. Now, this means that you sleep in a very peaceful and deep way, that you are so still, nothing can disturb you, you are calm. Unfortunately, I don't sleep like a log, but occasionally, I do. Occasionally, I'll close my eyes, As I go to bed, I close my eyes and then I wake up in the morning having a full night's sleep, undisturbed, no dreams, no sense of anything. I just completely shut off and then woke up in the morning and thought, whoa, what just happened? I slept like a log. Like I said, it's very rare for me these days. But hopefully, you sleep like a log more often than I do. Here's another example,"After a very hectic day at the theme park yesterday, I slept like a log last night!" Alright, next on the list is the adjective shattered. Shattered. We spell this S H A T T E R E D. Shattered. Shattered. If you say you're shattered, then you are extremely tired. This is not the first word that comes to mind. My mum always said that this wasn't a very nice word. I don't really experience that much as an adult. It's not a bad word, but I still feel a bit weird using it. Like, I would say I'm really tired or I'm exhausted. But yes, shattered is just a way of saying that you are very, very physically and mentally drained. You have no energy left. If you talk about an object, like a glass or something being shattered, then it could mean that you've dropped it and it's broken into lots and lots of little pieces. So it's completely broken. So I think the same way about describing yourself as shattered. It's like you're completely broken into a thousand pieces. You can't function. So here's an example,"After working a 12-hour shift, I was completely shattered and too tired to cook, so we ordered a takeaway and chilled in front of a movie." Okay, so shattered. Like I said, my concern about using it just stems from my own childhood. There is nothing in it. I don't know why I shared it with you. Feel free to use it. But I will go on using words like exhausted instead. Okay, moving on. Next on our list is the noun insomnia, insomnia, we spell this I N S O M N I A, insomnia. Insomnia. Insomnia describes the inability to fall asleep. So, or finding it very, very difficult to rest. And this is a medical condition. You know, if you have insomnia, you probably need some sort of medical assistance or medication to help you get through it. I had a bout of insomnia, a period of insomnia when I was a teenager that stemmed from anxiety. And it was like maybe 10 days where I couldn't get adequate, adequate sleep. I found it took me hours to fall asleep. And when I fell asleep, it was very light sleep and I'd wake very easily. It was torture. And it's like I went past the point of kind of relaxed tiredness, where you can easily just fall into a sleep. It's like I went past that. And so falling asleep almost became this impossible task. It was horrible. And it was only with medication prescribed by the doctor that I was able to break that cycle. So anyone who listening has suffered with insomnia, I feel your pain. I can completely understand. The difficulties that you're going through. Here's an example sentence,"My mother suffered from chronic insomnia, often lying awake for hours every night." Next on the list is the noun Frequency. Frequency. We spell this F R E Q U E N C Y. Frequency. Frequency describes how often something happens. So if I say with great frequency, then I'm saying that something happens a lot. If I say with little frequency, then I'm saying something happens not a lot. Something happens very little. Here is an example sentence,"The frequency of your absence from training has increased over these past few weeks. Are you committed to this team or not?" Alright, last on the list is the adverb Soundly. Soundly. We spell it S O U N D L Y. Soundly. Soundly describes doing something in a complete or thorough manner, usually without problem or without doubts. So this is usually coupled with sleep. So to sleep soundly means that you sleep without waking, you sleep in a really deep way, like sleeping like a log. They are interchangeable. You sleep like a log or you sleep soundly. Here's an example sentence,"After studying for hours, she slept soundly knowing she had prepared well for her exam." Okay, that's our five. Let's do a quick recap. We started with the idiom sleep like a log, which means that you sleep deeply and peacefully without stirring. Then we had the adjective shattered, meaning very, very, very, very, very tired. Then we had the noun insomnia, meaning that you can't fall asleep or stay asleep. Then we had the noun frequency, meaning how often something happens. Then we had the adverb soundly, which is when something is done in a thorough or complete manner, without any problems or doubts. Okay, let's do this for pronunciation. Please repeat after me. Sleep like a log. Sleep like a log. Shattered. Shattered. Insomnia. Insomnia. Frequency. Frequency. Soundly. Soundly. Fantastic. Let me now test your memory. If I'm really, really exhausted, what other adjective could I use instead? I am shattered. And I'm shattered because for the last week I've suffered with an inability to fall asleep. What noun could I use to replace the inability to fall asleep? Insomnia. I'm shattered because for the last week I've suffered with insomnia. Which doesn't happen very often. Normally what does happen often is that I sleep very, very well. What idiom could I use to describe sleeping very deeply and peacefully? I normally sleep like a log. Yes, absolutely. I normally sleep like a log, but recently I've suffered with insomnia, therefore I am shattered. Now the doctor that I spoke to said that the high regularity in which I use my mobile phone at nighttime is the cause of my insomnia. So I'm looking at my screen for too long and too often. What noun could I use to replace saying, I do this often? The frequency. The frequency with which I pick up my phone close to bedtime is the cause of my insomnia and where I would normally sleep like a log, lately I've been staring at my phone with great frequency close to bedtime and that has resulted with insomnia, which means that I'm now shattered. But by following the doctor's advice and putting my phone away a long time before I go to sleep has meant that now I sleep without problems. What adverb could I use to describe how I sleep? I sleep soundly. Very good. Yes. There we go. So let's bring those items together once again in a well-prepared story during today's story time. I've always been a bit of an insomniac. Ever since I was a child, I've struggled with falling asleep and staying asleep through the night. I've tried everything, from warm milk to meditation, but nothing seemed to work. As I got older, my insomnia only seemed to worsen and was happening with increasing frequency. I would lie in bed for hours, my mind racing with thoughts and worries. I would toss and turn, trying to find a comfortable position, but sleep always seemed to elude me. Every morning, I would get up feeling shattered. It wasn't until I hit my 30s that I realised my insomnia wasn't just a nuisance, it was affecting every aspect of my life. I couldn't remember the last time I'd slept soundly. I was constantly tired and irritable, my work performance was suffering, and my relationships were strained. Desperate for a solution, I turned to self-help books. I devoured every book I could find on sleep and insomnia, hoping to find some answers. And finally, after months of research and experimentation, I found a few techniques that actually helped me fall asleep. The first thing I learned was to create a bedtime routine. I would start by turning off all screens an hour before bed and instead read a book or listen to calming music. Then, I would do some light stretching and deep breathing exercises to relax my body and mind. Another helpful tip was to keep a journal by my bed. Whenever my thoughts started to race, I would write them down, allowing my mind to let go of them and drift off to sleep. And perhaps the most important lesson I learned was to let go of my worries and fears. I realised that my insomnia was often fuelled by my anxiety and overthinking. So instead of trying to control my thoughts, I learned to accept them and let them pass without judgement. It's been a few months since I implemented these techniques, and I can proudly say that my insomnia is no longer a constant battle. I still have the occasional sleepless night, but now I have the tools to cope with it. Last night I slept like a log! Now, let's hope I can sleep tonight too! Good night, everyone. And that brings us to the end of today's episode. Please take a moment to leave this a like, rating or review. And as always, please recommend The English Like A Native Podcast to your English learning friends. Until tomorrow, take very good care and goodbye.