as in insomnia
the inability to obtain adequate sleep
a nagging wakefulness that seemed resistant to all of the standard home remedies
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Recent Examples of wakefulness
During wakefulness, these muscles receive strong neural drive from the brainstem, keeping the airway patent and the airflow laminar.
—
Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026
That’s followed by periods of contemplation, energized wakefulness, and, purportedly, a vanishing of withdrawal symptoms.
—Shayla Love, The Atlantic, 24 May 2026
Everybody wants to sound like her, but no one else can quite replicate the particular sonic grammar of her writing, which unfurls like an intimate dispatch from the blurry edge of sleep and wakefulness.
—New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
The company’s key asset is cleminorexton (formerly known as ORX750), which seeks to mimic a molecule in the brain, known as orexin, that helps regulate wakefulness.
—Jeff Marks, CNBC, 31 Mar. 2026
For many women, that gentle nudge toward wakefulness was once easy to sleep through.
—Allison Palmer, Sacbee.com, 23 Mar. 2026
Curating your home's color palette can promote wakefulness in some areas and relaxation in others.
—Kamron Sanders, The Spruce, 22 Feb. 2026
In 2009, after studying a mother and a daughter who were both short sleepers, Fu published a paper about a variation in a gene called DEC2, which influences the production of orexin, a hormone associated with wakefulness.
—Shayla Love, New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2026
Green tea contains caffeine, which can promote wakefulness and alertness.
—Angelica Bottaro, Verywell Health, 7 Jan. 2026
Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026
That’s followed by periods of contemplation, energized wakefulness, and, purportedly, a vanishing of withdrawal symptoms.
—Shayla Love, The Atlantic, 24 May 2026
Everybody wants to sound like her, but no one else can quite replicate the particular sonic grammar of her writing, which unfurls like an intimate dispatch from the blurry edge of sleep and wakefulness.
—New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
The company’s key asset is cleminorexton (formerly known as ORX750), which seeks to mimic a molecule in the brain, known as orexin, that helps regulate wakefulness.
—Jeff Marks, CNBC, 31 Mar. 2026
For many women, that gentle nudge toward wakefulness was once easy to sleep through.
—Allison Palmer, Sacbee.com, 23 Mar. 2026
Curating your home's color palette can promote wakefulness in some areas and relaxation in others.
—Kamron Sanders, The Spruce, 22 Feb. 2026
In 2009, after studying a mother and a daughter who were both short sleepers, Fu published a paper about a variation in a gene called DEC2, which influences the production of orexin, a hormone associated with wakefulness.
—Shayla Love, New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2026
Green tea contains caffeine, which can promote wakefulness and alertness.
—Angelica Bottaro, Verywell Health, 7 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wakefulness
Noun
-
Yoga may significantly reduce the insomnia, fatigue and mood disturbances many survivors endure after remission, a recent clinical trial found.—
Teresa Mull,
FOXNews.com,
30 May 2026
-
Not getting enough magnesium is linked with insomnia and lower sleep quality, Susie adds.—
Sarah Klein,
Time,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
The restlessness didn’t arrive as a thunderclap.—
Jasmine Browley,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
-
Undoubtedly that restlessness helped fuel his work over the decades.—
Tom Tapp,
Deadline,
25 May 2026
Noun
-
This increases alertness, boosts available energy and temporarily downshifts nonessential functions like digestion.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
30 May 2026
-
Ten minutes outside around lunchtime makes a measurable difference in afternoon alertness.—
Allison Palmer,
Kansas City Star,
19 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wakefulness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wakefulness. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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