If you’ve been dealt a hefty dose of insomnia with a side of anxiety-induced nightmares like me, you know those nights can feel extra long sometimes. If your body doesn’t want to follow the rules, why should you? Instead of staring at the ceiling and bemoaning your misery, flip back your covers and embrace that me-time while you have it with my favorite late-night activities.
Play a Horror Video Game & Stifle Your Shouts
For some, playing a horror video game at night feels like a one-way ticket to the scarred-for-life station. But, when you’re like me, a scary video game is weak sauce compared to the horrors that my brain can conjure up. It's a master at keeping me lying awake and waiting to turn over and find the little boy from The Grudge inches from my face or finding Hereditary’s Annie lying in wait in the dark corner above my bed.
Contrary to what you may think, I love horror, and sometimes a jump scare is just what the doctor ordered after midnight.
Finish the Finales You’ve Been Putting Off
I’m notorious for putting off watching a show’s season or series finale. I’m sure there’s something in there about not wanting my fun to end, but I digress. Either way, they give me ample ammunition for when I can’t sleep and need something to tantalize my troubled thoughts.
Spend Some Time Scrolling Through a Funny Subreddit
Hours stretch into days after the sun sets, and one of the best places to go to help them blow by is ridiculous subreddits. The more outrageous and indignant the posts are, the better.
I love a good unsolved mystery, and r/unsolvedmysteries and r/interentmysteries are interesting places to traverse. As a millennial whose chance of owning a house is as high as discovering a live thylacine, the r/zillogonewild subreddit also hits the spot.
Watch a Lengthy “Iceberg” Deep Dive on YouTube
If you haven’t already picked up on it, I have a love affair with long-form content. Another place to find super satisfying hours-long deep dives to enjoy is the “iceberg” world of YouTube. These videos travel through increasingly complex, unknown, or specific parts of a topic like layers on an iceberg.
From disturbing books to lost media, there’s an iceberg video on just about any topic you’re interested in.
Try on Every Outfit in Your Closet for Funsies
Would it be a sleepless night if you didn’t get the itch to try on different clothing combinations for increasingly specific scenarios that you’ll probably never find yourself in? From what you’d wear when you stumbled across an old childhood crush you hadn’t laid eyes on in almost 20 years to the outfit you’d pick for the late-night talk show interview you’ve never been invited to, the possibilities are endless.
Explore a Composer’s Oeuvre
My music tastes are as varied as they come, but the thing I always gravitate towards when it’s eerily quiet outside is classical music. I’m a huge fan of Romantic and Baroque composers, but love a dash of cinematic scores here and there.
While Nicholas Brittel’s “Strings Con Fuoco” from the Succession score can’t beat back the overwhelming dread of knowing my alarm clock will go off sooner rather than later, it can make me feel alive.
Test Your Skills With Random Trivia Quizzes
If your body’s too tired to do much but your brain won’t shut off just yet, try wearing it down with a few trivia quizzes. For example, you could test your geography skills with the infamous Sporcle Countries of the World quiz.
Related: I Have Music Anhedonia: Here's How I Still Find Joy in Songs
Try to Beat Your Rival CPU Chess Player
I play chess like an absolute madman and don’t often have the patience to play against real people. Speed over strategy is where it’s at. So, I have a not-so-friendly rivalry with one of Chess.com’s CPU chess players, and I challenge them from time to time. Sure, chess might sound like a bore, but you can seriously spend hours just trying to make fewer mistakes against the CPU.
And when I finally beat them, there’s always another CPU rival just a bit better than them waiting to take their place.
Set Out a Tarot Spread to See Where Your Life’s Headed
I’m not an expert at reading tarot cards, but I’m pretty tarot literate, and sometimes seeing what the cards have in store is the shock or assurance I need to finally slip off to sleep.
Listen to an Old Radio Show
I love a podcast — audio or video — but I’m not a huge fan of the overproduced, ultra-edited style of shows today. I much prefer a basement-quality hours-long diatribe to a Spotify Top Podcasts show, and old radio dramas have the right amount of grit and storytelling to help me drift off.
While The Saint is my favorite, Johnny Dollar and The Shadow are also ones worth giving a listen. Just remember that these were recorded and produced decades ago and will make your lips curl from time to time.
You Have All Night Long to Try Something New
According to my body, “sleep is for the weak” is the only life motto worth following. If you’re used to sleepless nights like me, never fear. You can fit so many fun activities into the wee hours of the morning. What does it matter if you reorganize your cosmetics at 2 in the morning? It’s not like you’d be sleeping anyway!
