About This Lesson
Use Improving Sleep Habits to practice Spanish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
La calidad de mi sueño ha sido mala incluso cuando me acuesto temprano.
lah kah-lee-DAHD day mee SWEH-nyoh ah SEE-doh MAH-lah een-KLOO-soh KWAHN-doh may ah-KWEHS-toh tem-PRAH-noh My sleep quality has been poor even when I go to bed early.
B
¿Cómo es tu rutina por la noche?
KOH-moh ehss too roo-TEE-nah por lah NOH-cheh What does your evening routine look like?
A
Bebo café después de cenar y reviso el teléfono en la cama.
BEH-boh kah-FEH des-PWEHS day seh-NAHR ee reh-BEE-soh el teh-LEH-foh-noh en lah KAH-mah I drink coffee after dinner and check my phone in bed.
B
Tanto la cafeína como el tiempo frente a la pantalla pueden hacer que te cueste relajarte.
TAHN-toh lah kah-fay-EE-nah KOH-moh el tee-EM-poh FREN-teh ah lah pahn-TAH-yah PWEH-den ah-SER kay teh KWEHS-teh reh-lah-HAR-teh Both caffeine and screen time can make it harder to wind down.
A
No puedo cambiarlo todo de una vez.
noh PWEH-doh kahm-BYAHR-loh TOH-doh day OO-nah behs I cannot change everything at once.
B
Empieza con un cambio realista, como no tomar café después de cenar.
em-PYEH-sah kohn oon KAHM-byoh reh-ah-LEES-tah KOH-moh noh toh-MAHR kah-FEH des-PWEHS day seh-NAHR Start with one realistic change, like skipping coffee after dinner.
A
Entonces puedo reemplazar el tiempo que paso con el teléfono por leer antes de acostarme.
en-TOHN-sehs PWEH-doh reh-em-plah-SAHR el tee-EM-poh kay PAH-soh kohn el teh-LEH-foh-noh por leh-ER AHN-tehs day ah-kohs-TAHR-meh Then I can replace phone time with reading before bed.
B
Es más importante tener una rutina que puedas mantener que tener una rutina perfecta.
ehss mahs eem-por-TAHN-teh teh-NEHR OO-nah roo-TEE-nah kay PWEH-dahs mahn-teh-NEHR kay teh-NEHR OO-nah roo-TEE-nah pehr-FEHK-tah A routine you can keep matters more than a perfect one.
A
Puedo probarlo durante un período corto antes de juzgar el resultado.
PWEH-doh proh-BAHR-loh doo-RAHN-teh oon peh-ree-OH-doh KOR-toh AHN-tehs day hoos-GAHR el reh-sool-TAH-doh I can test that for a short period before judging the result.
B
Eso le da a tu cuerpo tiempo suficiente para adaptarse.
EH-soh leh dah ah too KWEHR-poh tee-EM-poh soo-fee-SYEN-teh PAH-rah ah-dahp-TAHR-seh That gives your body enough time to adjust.Word by Word
La
In “La calidad de mi sueño”, La means “the” and introduces the specific noun calidad. It is used before a noun in phrases such as La calidad de mi sueño. You would use it when referring to a specific feminine noun.
calidad
In “La calidad de mi sueño”, calidad means “quality”, here referring to how good or poor the sleep is. It commonly appears with de to identify what is being evaluated, as in calidad de mi sueño. You can use it when discussing the quality of sleep, work, or a service.
de
In “calidad de mi sueño”, de links calidad with what it describes: the quality of my sleep. This is a common pattern for expressing “the quality of” something. Use de to connect a noun with its source, type, or relationship.
mi
In “mi sueño”, mi means “my” and identifies the sleep as belonging to the speaker. It comes directly before the noun it describes. Use mi when referring to something connected with yourself.
sueño
In “mi sueño”, sueño means “sleep”. It is the thing whose calidad is being discussed. You would use it when talking about sleep, especially in expressions such as calidad de mi sueño.
ha
In “ha sido mala”, ha helps express “has been” together with sido. It is used here to describe the speaker’s sleep quality up to the present. The combination ha sido can be reused when describing a condition or experience that has continued until now.
sido
In “ha sido mala”, sido contributes the meaning “been”. It is the form used with ha in this description of sleep quality. The expression ha sido is useful for saying that something has had a particular condition.
mala
In “ha sido mala”, mala means “poor” or “bad” and describes the quality of the sleep. Its form matches the feminine noun calidad. You can use it to evaluate a feminine thing or situation negatively.
incluso
In “incluso cuando me acuesto temprano”, incluso means “even” and emphasizes that the poor sleep continues despite going to bed early. It can introduce an unexpected condition with cuando. Use it when a result is surprising in light of the following situation.
cuando
In “cuando me acuesto temprano”, cuando means “when” and introduces the time or condition connected with going to bed early. The pattern cuando + clause is useful for describing when something happens. You would use it to relate one event or state to another.
me
In “me acuesto temprano”, me marks the speaker as the person going to bed. It appears with the reflexive verb form used for the speaker’s own action. This pattern is useful when the speaker is personally affected by the action.
acuesto
In “me acuesto”, acuesto means “go to bed” as part of the expression for the speaker going to bed. The complete form me acuesto comes from acostarse and is used here with me. You can reuse me acuesto when describing your bedtime routine.
temprano
In “me acuesto temprano”, temprano means “early” and tells when the speaker goes to bed. It is placed after the verb in this sentence. You would use it to describe an action that happens earlier than expected or usual.
Cómo
In “¿Cómo es tu rutina por la noche?”, Cómo asks “how” in a question about what the routine is like. The accent marks its use as a question word. The frame ¿Cómo es…? is useful for asking someone to describe a situation or routine.
es
In “¿Cómo es tu rutina por la noche?”, es means “is” and links the question word with the routine being described. It is the form of ser used with the singular noun rutina. You can use ¿Cómo es…? to ask what something is like.
tu
In “tu rutina”, tu means “your” and identifies the routine as belonging to the person being addressed. It comes immediately before rutina. Use tu when asking about or describing something connected with one person you address informally.
rutina
In “tu rutina por la noche”, rutina means “routine”, the regular pattern of evening activities. It is specified further by por la noche. You would use it when discussing repeated daily habits or schedules.
por
In “por la noche”, por helps express the time period “at night” or “during the night”. The complete phrase por la noche gives the time of the routine. Use por with a part of the day when describing when an activity normally happens.
noche
In “por la noche”, noche means “night”. Together with por, it identifies the period when the evening routine takes place. You would use this phrase when talking about nighttime activities.
Bebo
In “Bebo café”, Bebo means “I drink”. The form shows that the speaker is describing their own regular action. The pattern Bebo + beverage is useful when talking about what you drink.
café
In “Bebo café”, café means “coffee” and is the drink being consumed. It functions as the object of Bebo. You would use it when discussing coffee as a drink or part of a routine.
después
In “después de cenar”, después means “after” and places the coffee drinking later than dinner. Here it is followed by de and an infinitive. The pattern después de + infinitive is useful for describing what happens after an activity.
cenar
In “después de cenar”, cenar means “to have dinner”. It appears as an infinitive after de to name the activity that happens first. You can reuse después de cenar when describing something done after dinner.
y
In “Bebo café después de cenar y reviso el teléfono”, y means “and” and joins two actions by the same speaker. It connects the coffee drinking with checking the phone. Use y to link related words, phrases, or actions.
reviso
In “reviso el teléfono”, reviso means “I check”. It describes the speaker looking at the phone in bed. The pattern reviso + object is useful when saying that you inspect or look at something.
el
In “el teléfono”, el means “the” and introduces the specific phone being checked. It comes before the noun teléfono. You would use it when referring to a specific masculine noun.
teléfono
In “el teléfono”, teléfono means “phone”. It is the object that the speaker checks in bed. You would use it when talking about a phone as part of a daily activity or routine.
en
In “en la cama”, en means “in” or “at” and identifies the location where the phone is checked. It is followed by the place la cama. The pattern en + place is useful for describing where an action happens.
cama
In “en la cama”, cama means “bed”. The phrase says that the speaker checks the phone while in bed. You would use it when talking about sleeping, resting, or activities done in bed.
Tanto
In “Tanto la cafeína como el tiempo frente a la pantalla”, Tanto begins the paired expression meaning “both”. It presents la cafeína as one of two factors, with como introducing the other. Use the pattern Tanto X como Y when including two things together.
cafeína
In “la cafeína”, cafeína means “caffeine”, identified here as one factor that can make relaxing harder. It is the first item in the pair Tanto la cafeína como el tiempo frente a la pantalla. You would use it when discussing caffeine consumption and its effects.
como
In “Tanto la cafeína como el tiempo frente a la pantalla”, como completes the paired structure with Tanto and means “as” in the sense of “both…and”. It introduces the second item in the pair. Use Tanto X como Y to connect two included causes, choices, or examples.
tiempo
In “el tiempo frente a la pantalla”, tiempo means “time”. Together with frente a la pantalla, it refers to time spent using or looking at a screen. You would use tiempo when describing how long someone spends on an activity.
frente
In “frente a la pantalla”, frente contributes the idea of being “in front” of something. The full phrase identifies the screen as the focus of the time being discussed. The pattern frente a + noun is useful for describing position or location relative to something.
a
In “frente a la pantalla”, a completes the preposition frente a and links frente with the screen. It identifies what is in front of the person. Use frente a + noun when expressing a position or situation in front of something.
pantalla
In “la pantalla”, pantalla means “screen”. In the full phrase tiempo frente a la pantalla, it identifies the screen involved in the person’s evening activity. You would use it when discussing phones, computers, televisions, or other screens.
pueden
In “pueden hacer que te cueste relajarte”, pueden means “can” and expresses possibility or ability for the two listed factors. It comes before the infinitive hacer. The pattern pueden + infinitive is useful for describing what something may cause or allow.
hacer
In “hacer que te cueste relajarte”, hacer means “make” or “cause”. The structure hacer que + clause describes an effect produced in someone. You can use hacer que when explaining that one thing causes another situation.
que
In “hacer que te cueste relajarte”, que connects the causing action with the result that follows. It introduces the clause describing the difficulty relaxing. This use is common after expressions that mean “make” or “cause” something to happen.
te
In “te cueste relajarte”, te marks the person who experiences the difficulty, namely the person being addressed. It works with cueste to express that relaxing is difficult for you. This pattern is useful when describing how an activity affects another person.
cueste
In “te cueste relajarte”, cueste means “be difficult for you” in the expression for finding it hard to relax. Its form appears after hacer que to describe the resulting difficulty. You would use this construction when explaining that an activity or task is hard for someone.
relajarte
In “relajarte”, relajarte means “to relax” with te attached to the infinitive, referring to the person being addressed. It is the activity that becomes difficult in te cueste relajarte. You can use it when talking directly to someone about relaxing.
No
In “No puedo cambiarlo todo”, No negates the ability expressed by puedo. Together, No puedo means “I cannot” or “I am not able to”. The pattern No + verb is used to make a statement negative.
puedo
In “No puedo cambiarlo todo”, puedo means “I can” or “I am able to”, but No makes the complete expression negative. It is followed by the infinitive cambiarlo. The pattern puedo + infinitive is useful for expressing what you are able to do.
cambiarlo
In “cambiarlo todo”, cambiarlo means “change it”, with lo attached to the infinitive cambiar. In this sentence, the full phrase means changing everything under discussion. You would use an infinitive with an attached object pronoun when referring to the thing being changed.
todo
In “cambiarlo todo”, todo means “everything” and completes the idea of changing all the relevant things. It follows cambiarlo in this expression. You would use todo when referring to the whole set of things under discussion.
una
In “de una vez”, una means “one” as part of the expression “at once”. It modifies vez within this fixed time expression. You would use una in similar phrases before a feminine singular noun.
vez
In “de una vez”, vez refers to a time or occasion, but the whole expression means “at once” in this dialogue. It emphasizes doing everything in a single step or moment. Use de una vez when describing something done all at once.
Empieza
In “Empieza con un cambio realista”, Empieza means “start” as a direct instruction to the person being addressed. It introduces the recommended first action. You would use Empieza con + noun when advising someone what to begin with.
con
In “Empieza con un cambio realista”, con means “with” and introduces the first change to begin. The pattern empezar con + noun identifies a starting point. You would use it when recommending the first item or step in a process.
un
In “un cambio realista”, un means “a” or “one” and introduces one change. It comes before the masculine singular noun cambio. You would use it when referring to one unspecified masculine noun.
cambio
In “un cambio realista”, cambio means “change”, here referring to a practical adjustment in the evening routine. It is the action recommended as the first step. You would use it when discussing an alteration to a habit, plan, or situation.
realista
In “un cambio realista”, realista means “realistic” and describes the change as practical to carry out. It helps identify the kind of change being recommended. You would use it when assessing whether a goal or adjustment is achievable.
tomar
In “no tomar café después de cenar”, tomar means “drink” in the common expression for consuming coffee. It appears as an infinitive after no to describe the action to skip. You can use tomar + beverage when talking about drinking coffee or another drink.
Entonces
In “Entonces puedo reemplazar…”, Entonces means “then” or “so” and connects the proposed coffee change with the speaker’s next step. It signals what follows from the previous suggestion. You would use it at the start of a sentence when moving to a consequence or next action.
reemplazar
In “reemplazar el tiempo que paso con el teléfono por leer”, reemplazar means “replace”. The sentence uses the pattern reemplazar X por Y, with phone time as X and reading as Y. You would use this pattern when exchanging one activity or thing for another.
paso
In “el tiempo que paso con el teléfono”, paso means “I spend” and describes the speaker’s time with the phone. It is the speaker’s action inside the clause that identifies the time. The pattern pasar tiempo con + activity or object is useful for describing how time is used.
leer
In “por leer”, leer means “to read” and names the activity chosen to replace phone time. It appears as an infinitive after por in the replacement pattern. You would use it when talking about reading as an activity before bed or at another time.
antes
In “antes de acostarme”, antes means “before” and places reading earlier than going to bed. It is followed by de and an infinitive. The pattern antes de + infinitive is useful for ordering one activity before another.
acostarme
In “antes de acostarme”, acostarme means “to go to bed” with me attached to the infinitive. It refers to the speaker’s own bedtime. You can reuse antes de acostarme when describing an activity done before going to bed.
más
In “más importante”, más means “more” and forms the comparison that favors a maintainable routine. It appears before importante. The pattern más + adjective is useful when comparing the degree of a quality.
importante
In “Es más importante tener una rutina…”, importante means “important”. The comparison says that having a routine you can maintain matters more than having a perfect one. You would use it when explaining the value or priority of an action or choice.
tener
In “tener una rutina”, tener means “to have”. It names the routine as something a person possesses or follows. The pattern tener + noun is useful for describing habits, plans, or resources someone has.
puedas
In “una rutina que puedas mantener”, puedas means “can” or “are able to” and describes the routine the listener is able to maintain. It appears in the clause introduced by que. You would use this form when describing a possibility or ability connected with the person being addressed.
mantener
In “puedas mantener”, mantener means “keep” or “maintain”, referring to continuing the routine over time. Its object is the routine being described. You would use mantener when talking about continuing a habit, schedule, or practice.
perfecta
In “una rutina perfecta”, perfecta means “perfect” and describes the routine that is being compared with the maintainable one. Its form matches the feminine noun rutina. You would use it when evaluating a feminine plan, routine, or result as completely ideal.
probarlo
In “Puedo probarlo”, probarlo means “try it” or “test it”, with lo attached to probar and referring to the plan being discussed. It presents testing the change before evaluating it. You would use probar + object when trying an approach or checking how it works.
durante
In “durante un período corto”, durante means “for” or “during” and identifies the length of the planned test. It introduces the time period that follows. Use durante + time expression when saying how long something continues.
período
In “un período corto”, período means “period” or “time span”. It names the limited length of time for testing the change. You would use it when describing a defined stretch of time.
corto
In “un período corto”, corto means “short” and describes the period as limited in length. Its form matches período. You would use it when describing a brief period, distance, or amount.
juzgar
In “antes de juzgar el resultado”, juzgar means “judge” or “evaluate”. It names the evaluation that should wait until after the test period. The pattern antes de juzgar + object is useful when postponing an assessment.
resultado
In “juzgar el resultado”, resultado means “result”, referring to what the test produces. It is the object of juzgar. You would use it when evaluating the outcome of an action, experiment, or change.
Eso
In “Eso le da a tu cuerpo tiempo suficiente”, Eso means “that” and refers to the plan or trial just discussed. It serves as the subject of the next statement. You would use Eso to point back to an idea or action already mentioned.
le
In “le da a tu cuerpo”, le marks the person or thing receiving what is given; here, the recipient is clarified as tu cuerpo. It works with da in the structure for giving something to someone or something. You would use le when referring to an indirect recipient.
da
In “le da a tu cuerpo tiempo suficiente”, da means “gives”. The subject is Eso, and the thing given is tiempo suficiente. You would use da when describing something providing time, help, or another resource.
cuerpo
In “a tu cuerpo”, cuerpo means “body”. It is the part of the learner that receives enough time to adapt. You would use it when discussing physical reactions, health, or bodily adjustment.
suficiente
In “tiempo suficiente”, suficiente means “enough” or “sufficient”. It says that the body receives the amount of time needed to adapt. The pattern noun + suficiente is useful for describing an adequate amount.
para
In “tiempo suficiente para adaptarse”, para means “for” or “in order to” and introduces the purpose of the time. It is followed here by the infinitive adaptarse. The pattern para + infinitive is useful for explaining what something is intended to make possible.
adaptarse
In “para adaptarse”, adaptarse means “to adjust” or “to adapt”, with the reflexive pronoun attached to the infinitive. The body is the thing expected to adjust to the routine change. You would use para adaptarse when describing the purpose of allowing someone or something time to adjust.
Grammar Points
después de + infinitivo
Después de cenar, reviso el teléfono.
des-PWEHS day seh-NAHR, reh-BEE-soh el teh-LEH-foh-nohAfter having dinner, I check my phone.
After de, use the infinitive when the subject stays the same: después de cenar.
hacer que + subjuntivo
El café hace que te cueste relajarte.
el kah-FEH AH-seh kay teh KWEHS-teh reh-lah-HAR-tehCoffee makes it difficult for you to relax.
Hacer que introduces an effect and is followed by the subjunctive, such as cueste.
Spanish Vocabulary
acostarse
verb
ah-kohs-TAHR-seh
to go to bed
me acuesto
beber
verb
beh-BEHR
to drink
bebo
café
noun
kah-FEH
coffee
calidad
noun
kah-lee-DAHD
quality
La calidad de mi sueño
cenar
verb
seh-NAHR
to have dinner
después de
prep
des-PWEHS day
after
incluso
adv
een-KLOO-soh
even
malo
adj
MAH-loh
bad
mala
por la noche
phrase
por lah NOH-cheh
in the evening
rutina
noun
roo-TEE-nah
routine
sueño
noun
SWEH-nyoh
sleep
temprano
adv
tem-PRAH-noh
early
Quiz
Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
to drink
Show Answer
beboearly
Show Answer
tempranosleep
Show Answer
sueñoquality