>Stand down is a very common expression in the military, but I've never heard it in the civilan sector.

Neither have I, but it's still a valid expression which isn't really an antonym for 'stand up'.

>
>
>>>>>>I read till I go over the same section again and again, then realise I haven't taken it in. Then I put down the book and drop off immediately. Otherwise I'm a life-long semi-insomniac. I'm more or less indefatiguable.
>>>>>
>>>>>Some people like my sister in-law need 5-6 hours sleep. My wife, if she can get it will sleep for 10 hours. When I was a teenager I could sleep for 12-14 hours.
>>>>
>>>>I've come down to pretty stable 8 hours. Occasionally, it happens that I sleep just 6, 5 or even 3 hours - which I then make up by sleeping 15 minutes in the afternoon. I don't really know how I do it, but this power nap does work for me. It's usually on the carpet, with just a minimal pillow, and I sink deep within a minute. In the evening, it usually takes me much longer to get asleep.
>>>>
>>>>I have a different problem. My day seems to have 25 hours. When I don't pay attention (don't ask how much), I tend to go to bed one hour later every day. Then I usually have to break out of it, usually when I come close to 3am mark, by forcing myself to wake up early, be slightly dizzy for a day, and then be sort of normal for a while.
>>>>
>>>>BTW, "fall asleep" is another funny expression -- no English word for "zaspati" (start sleeping).
>>>
>>>Do you never get that falling sensation when sleep's on its way?
>>>
>>>The one that bugs me is when they say a woman "falls pregnant". Either it's very hard to actually achieve pregnancy whilst falling, or a bad idea to fall once she is.
>>>
>>>Yes, we have a lot of verbs that are dependant on the prepostion, nicht war? You can tell someone to "sit down and sit up"
>>
>>Not to mention stand down and stand up.