寝る
ne-ru
寝る is the body turning horizontal and the switch going down
The picture A body that was standing upright lies down long and flat, and its switch goes down with it. 寝る lays the body flat and down; 起きる stands it upright and switches the lights on.
Where the picture shows up in 寝る
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Lying flat at night
毎晩十一時に寝ます。
maiban jūichi-ji ni ne-masu
I go to bed at eleven every night.
The light goes off and the body is laid out flat and long on the bedding.
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The switch is down
子どもはもう寝ています。
kodomo wa mō nete i-masu
The kids are already asleep.
Under the covers a child's breathing rises evenly and the eyes stay shut.
'Is asleep' is 寝ている; bare 寝ます sounds like you will go to bed later.
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Laying the body down here
ここに寝てください。
koko ni nete kudasai
Please lie down here.
A back settles onto the exam table and the body stretches out flat.
This is the hospital 'lie down'. Nothing to do with sleeping.
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Little time spent flat
昨日はあまり寝ていません。
kinō wa amari nete i-masen
I didn't sleep much last night.
On the night's time bar, only a couple of flat blocks are shaded in.
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Flat all day
熱があるので今日は寝ています。
netsu ga aru node kyō wa nete i-masu
I have a fever, so I'm staying in bed today.
It is daytime, yet the quilt stays on and the body stays flat.
All of it in one picture
寝る is one picture: the body going horizontal. Lie flat on the bedding at night, and you go to bed; stay flat with the switch down, and you are asleep; put the body flat on an exam table, and it means lie down here; keep the flat time short, and you did not sleep much; stay flat all day with a fever, and you are laid up. So 寝る covers the whole horizontal posture, not only sleep.