# sleep camel

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/sleep-camel
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

A person who habitually does with little to no sleep during the week and then makes up by sleeping a lot during the weekend.

## Examples

- He is a sleep camel who rests only on the weekend.
- Because she works long shifts all week, she acts like a sleep camel and stays in bed until Sunday afternoon.
- My roommate is a total sleep camel, staying up until dawn for his tech job and then refusing to leave his room for the entire duration of the weekend.
- The exhausted student lived like a sleep camel, surviving on caffeine during the week before collapsing into a deep slumber throughout the entire weekend.

## Origin

The term is likely formed by analogy, comparing the human capacity for sleep to the dromedary habit of storing water for future use. The phrase suggests a metabolic efficiency the camel does not actually possess, though the popular imagery of the animal's humps has sustained the comparison. It remains a colloquial construction of uncertain date, relying on the folk-biological premise that rest, like hydration, may be stockpiled in advance of a period of deprivation. (disputed)

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.