Sedation is what doctors do when they give medicine so that you become calm, sleepy, or fully asleep for a short time. It is a hospital and clinic word. Dentists, emergency doctors, and surgeons use it when they need you still and unafraid. ‘Under sedation’ means the drugs are working and you are not your usual awake self. Though actually, it is not always the same as a full operation sleep. With light sedation you may still hear voices but not care much; with deep sedation you are properly out. Full anaesthesia is a step further, for bigger operations. Sedation’s job is to quiet you for a procedure, not to treat a long-term illness, and not to take pain away by itself — though it is often given with a painkiller.