In search of the right expression . . .

December 3, 2018 6:17 AM

If you "woke up on the wrong side of bed," you woke up cranky and irritable. But what if you were awakened from a deep sleep and are confused, disoriented, and sleepy? Is there an expression/idiom for that? This happened to me this morning, and I feel totally wrong-footed.
posted by backwards compatible to Writing & Language (19 answers total)

You want something that's specific to feeling that way after being suddenly woken up? And not just feeling that way in general?
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:19 AM on December 3, 2018

Response by poster: Specific to how you feel if you've been woken abruptly, or if you just don't wake up properly. I just feel fuzzy-headed, which is different than how I feel if I am generally tired. I may be the only one in the world that experiences this, though.
posted by backwards compatible at 6:32 AM on December 3, 2018

I think I know what you're talking about but it's not coming to the surface because I woke up feeling kind of drunk even tho I went to bed sober ;)

I wanna say "sleep intoxication" but that's not it. It's a known phenomenon though.
posted by some loser at 6:36 AM on December 3, 2018

Best answer: This absolutely happens to me, and has taken me close to half an hour to recover from—like, I start out seeming awake and alert but I'm not quite conscious, and would be a danger to myself if I got out of bed; gradually, I struggle into full consciousness, usually with the help of a lot of questions from my wife: what day is it, etc. One time, she woke me up to tell me about a local disaster and, though I remember the conversation clearly even now, at the time I just could not parse what she was saying.

I refer to it as being "half-awake" (to differentiate it from being half-asleep), but I don't know of any common expression for it.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 6:37 AM on December 3, 2018

Best answer: Groggy is the word I would use.
posted by samj at 6:39 AM on December 3, 2018 [20 favorites]

Best answer: I think of it as "sleep drunk" and much like any drunken-ness it takes some time to wear off!
posted by london explorer girl at 7:00 AM on December 3, 2018 [3 favorites]

Best answer: This article calls it "sleep drunkenness, or confusional arousal."
posted by Redstart at 7:01 AM on December 3, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: You’re not alone! I often use the phrase “fuzzy-headed” too, as well as groggy.
posted by sucre at 7:10 AM on December 3, 2018

Best answer: Sleep Inertia
posted by Stewriffic at 7:31 AM on December 3, 2018 [4 favorites]

I've often called this a "dream hangover." I'm glad it's not just me!
posted by Sweetchrysanthemum at 7:49 AM on December 3, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I'll say that I woke up in the wrong part of my sleep cycle, which does preserve some of the "wrong side of the bed" phrasing.
posted by tchemgrrl at 8:00 AM on December 3, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I call it "sleep drunk" as well.
posted by Grandysaur at 8:08 AM on December 3, 2018

"Groggy" is the word I've always used for this.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 8:29 AM on December 3, 2018 [1 favorite]

This used to be my sister's morning state and we would always call her The Dormouse and everyone new what it meant. I think "groggy" is usually descriptive but doesn't include the context of being awakened.
posted by jessamyn at 9:04 AM on December 3, 2018

My dad always called this "slugful and gormy."
posted by Squeak Attack at 9:49 AM on December 3, 2018 [6 favorites]

I call it swimmy-headed, because it feels like I'm submerged in a pool and trying to walk -- that resistance and slowness. Physical as well as cognitive.
posted by basalganglia at 9:52 AM on December 3, 2018

In my house we say, "I'm waking up hard," or "I woke up hard this morning."
posted by tangosnail at 10:05 AM on December 3, 2018 [1 favorite]

I believe the word for that wrong-footed feeling is "logy."
posted by surlyben at 10:06 AM on December 3, 2018 [2 favorites]

I call that 'not awake yet'. Ex, someone tries to talk to me at breakfast, I stare blankly and say 'I'm not awake yet'.

I've heard groggy, sleep hangover and out of it used.
posted by Ahniya at 9:12 AM on December 4, 2018