Literal translation
who goes to bed without supper tosses all night long
Meaning
sleep on an empty stomach and you'll toss all night
Explanation
This saying makes the almost medical observation that going to bed without a meal disturbs sleep. Si coucho (goes to bed, from coucha) and sènso soupa (without supper, sènso meaning without, soupa the evening meal) state the cause ; touto la nue si boulego (tosses all night, boulega meaning to stir, shake, move) gives the consequence. The image is bodily and concrete : an empty stomach keeps the body from resting, and the sleeper turns over endlessly. The saying belongs to a popular wisdom attentive to bodily needs, inherited from a time when the evening meal was never guaranteed and real hunger did in fact disturb the night. It is used literally, to comment on or justify the importance of eating before sleeping, but also by extension to say that depriving someone, or oneself, of the essentials always produces restlessness and a lack of peace. Its two balanced clauses, cause then effect, make it a small maxim that is easy to remember.