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You can't use 'wake' and 'sleep' in the same way because they have significantly different meanings.

'Wake' is specifically a transition from one state to another. When I wake, I stop sleeping and start being awake. This happens at a moment in time, so I can specify just one moment. "I woke at 10."

'Sleep' is an ongoing process. I start sleeping, sleep for a while, and then end. My sleeping didn't occur at any one point in time, so I can't say when it happened. I can however say when I started sleeping. "I fell asleep at 10."

This is why "I slept at 10" is ambiguous and confusing. I don't know what point in the sleeping process you're referring to. It sounds like you're just saying you were asleep at 10.

Common forms for this expression include

• "I fell asleep at 10"
• "I went to sleep at 10"
• "I went to bed at 10"

However, note that "going to bed" does not necessarily imply "going to sleep". I may go to bed at a point in time, engage in other activities such as reading, and then fall asleep at a later point in time.

Note on Definitions

Note that 'slept' is the simple past tense and past participle of 'sleep'. After checking Wiktionary, Merriam-Webster, and the Oxford Dictionaries, none of them have "start sleeping" as a listed meaning for 'sleep'.

On the other hand, 'woke' is the simple past tense and past participle of 'wake'. In all three sources, the definition for 'wake' means to "stop sleeping", as in this definition from Merriam-Webster:

to stop sleeping : to become awake after sleeping

You can't use 'wake' and 'sleep' in the same way because they have significantly different meanings.

'Wake' is specifically a transition from one state to another. When I wake, I stop sleeping and start being awake. This happens at a moment in time, so I can specify just one moment. "I woke at 10."

'Sleep' is an ongoing process. I start sleeping, sleep for a while, and then end. My sleeping didn't occur at any one point in time, so I can't say when it happened. I can however say when I started sleeping. "I fell asleep at 10."

This is why "I slept at 10" is ambiguous and confusing. I don't know what point in the sleeping process you're referring to. It sounds like you're just saying you were asleep at 10.

Common forms for this expression include

• "I fell asleep at 10"
• "I went to sleep at 10"
• "I went to bed at 10"

However, note that "going to bed" does not necessarily imply "going to sleep". I may go to bed at a point in time, engage in other activities such as reading, and then fall asleep at a later point in time.

If you wanted to say when you normally go to sleep, rather than when you went to sleep one particular time, then common phrases include:

• "I go to sleep at 10"
• "I'm asleep by 10"
• "My bedtime is at 10"

The most precise phrasing is the first. The second implies that you may sometimes fall asleep earlier than 10, and the third only refers to going to bed, which may or may not be when you go to sleep.

Sometimes other short activities - short meaning about an hour or less - can be referred to as if they took place at one particular moment, such as eating. It would be more common to say "I ate at 10" than "I started eating at 10", unless you were having a very long meal. If I take a short nap, I might even say "I napped at 10".

Note on Definitions

Note that 'slept' is the simple past tense and past participle of 'sleep'. After checking Wiktionary, Merriam-Webster, and the Oxford Dictionaries, none of them have "start sleeping" as a listed meaning for 'sleep'.

On the other hand, 'woke' is the simple past tense and past participle of 'wake'. In all three sources, the definition for 'wake' means to "stop sleeping", as in this definition from Merriam-Webster:

to stop sleeping : to become awake after sleeping

You can't use 'wake' and 'sleep' in the same way because they have significantly different meanings.

'Wake' is specifically a transition from one state to another. When I wake, I stop sleeping and start being awake. This happens at a moment in time, so I can specify just one moment. "I woke at 10."

'Sleep' is an ongoing process. I start sleeping, sleep for a while, and then end. My sleeping didn't occur at any one point in time, so I can't say when it happened. I can however say when I started sleeping. "I fell asleep at 10."

This is why "I slept at 10" is ambiguous and confusing. I don't know what point in the sleeping process you're referring to. It sounds like you're just saying you were asleep at 10.

Common forms for this expression include

• "I fell asleep at 10"
• "I went to sleep at 10"
• "I went to bed at 10"

However, note that "going to bed" does not necessarily imply "going to sleep". I may go to bed at a point in time, engage in other activities such as reading, and then fall asleep at a later point in time.

Note that 'slept' is the simple past tense and past participle of 'sleep'. After checking Wiktionary, Merriam-Webster, and the Oxford Dictionaries, none of them have 'start sleeping' as a listed meaning for 'sleep'.

You can't use 'wake' and 'sleep' in the same way because they have significantly different meanings.

'Wake' is specifically a transition from one state to another. When I wake, I stop sleeping and start being awake. This happens at a moment in time, so I can specify just one moment. "I woke at 10."

'Sleep' is an ongoing process. I start sleeping, sleep for a while, and then end. My sleeping didn't occur at any one point in time, so I can't say when it happened. I can however say when I started sleeping. "I fell asleep at 10."

This is why "I slept at 10" is ambiguous and confusing. I don't know what point in the sleeping process you're referring to. It sounds like you're just saying you were asleep at 10.

Common forms for this expression include

• "I fell asleep at 10"
• "I went to sleep at 10"
• "I went to bed at 10"

However, note that "going to bed" does not necessarily imply "going to sleep". I may go to bed at a point in time, engage in other activities such as reading, and then fall asleep at a later point in time.

Note on Definitions

Note that 'slept' is the simple past tense and past participle of 'sleep'. After checking Wiktionary, Merriam-Webster, and the Oxford Dictionaries, none of them have "start sleeping" as a listed meaning for 'sleep'.

On the other hand, 'woke' is the simple past tense and past participle of 'wake'. In all three sources, the definition for 'wake' means to "stop sleeping", as in this definition from Merriam-Webster:

to stop sleeping : to become awake after sleeping

You can't use 'wake' and 'sleep' in the same way because they have significantly different meanings.

'Wake' is specifically a transition from one state to another. When I wake, I stop sleeping and start being awake. This happens at a moment in time, so I can specify just one moment. "I woke at 10."

'Sleep' is an ongoing process. I start sleeping, sleep for a while, and then end. My sleeping didn't occur at any one point in time, so I can't say when it happened. I can however say when I started sleeping. "I fell asleep at 10."

This is why "I slept at 10" is ambiguous and confusing. I don't know what point in the sleeping process you're referring to. It sounds like you're just saying you were asleep at 10.

Common forms for this expression include

• "I fell asleep at 10"
• "I went to sleep at 10"
• "I went to bed at 10"

However, note that "going to bed" does not necessarily imply "going to sleep". I may go to bed at a point in time, engage in other activities such as reading, and then fall asleep at a later point in time.

You can't use 'wake' and 'sleep' in the same way because they have significantly different meanings.

'Wake' is specifically a transition from one state to another. When I wake, I stop sleeping and start being awake. This happens at a moment in time, so I can specify just one moment. "I woke at 10."

'Sleep' is an ongoing process. I start sleeping, sleep for a while, and then end. My sleeping didn't occur at any one point in time, so I can't say when it happened. I can however say when I started sleeping. "I fell asleep at 10."

This is why "I slept at 10" is ambiguous and confusing. I don't know what point in the sleeping process you're referring to. It sounds like you're just saying you were asleep at 10.

Common forms for this expression include

• "I fell asleep at 10"
• "I went to sleep at 10"
• "I went to bed at 10"

However, note that "going to bed" does not necessarily imply "going to sleep". I may go to bed at a point in time, engage in other activities such as reading, and then fall asleep at a later point in time.

Note that 'slept' is the simple past tense and past participle of 'sleep'. After checking Wiktionary, Merriam-Webster, and the Oxford Dictionaries, none of them have 'start sleeping' as a listed meaning for 'sleep'.