Every weekday when most of us are still sound asleep, they assemble for another sortie, ready to take away what we throw away.

BBC

Hours earlier, Fifi was sound asleep in her crate, a red rabbit stuffed toy at her paws, looking like the most docile dog in the world.

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He was under a cupboard, sound asleep, and one had only to sniff at him to understand that he had wandered thirsty from bed to the kitchen and drunk at length from the wine bowl instead of the water bowl, and perhaps had had a solitary toddling drunken party all his own before hiding himself away to sleep.

NEWYORKER: A Tiny Feast

The idea of unlocking a smartphone, opening a texting app and then typing something while asleep may sound far-fetched, but the "sleep-texting" term is a little misleading.

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At night, guests fall asleep to the sound of the ocean waves.

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If I fell asleep, the sound would become a lazy breeze rustling a tree, or a broom brushing the earth.

NEWYORKER: Naima

Still, falling asleep with the sound of the Pacific Ocean in my ears made up for the paltry (and undercooked) rations, and I vowed the next time would be different.

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Downloading lessons into the brain might sound like sci-fi, but technology that activates neural patterns might soon help us practice while asleep.

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This feature lets customers feed the system's sound directly to their smartphone via Wi-Fi to ensure that the rest of the family stays fast asleep.

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