If you鈥檝e 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鈥檛 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鈥檙e like me, a scary video game is weak sauce compared to the horrors that my brain can conjure up.聽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 贬别谤别诲颈迟补谤测鈥檚 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.聽
Finish the Finales You鈥檝e Been Putting Off
I鈥檓 notorious for putting off watching a show鈥檚 season or series finale. I鈥檓 sure there鈥檚 something in there about not wanting my fun to end, but I digress. Either way, they give me ample ammunition for when I can鈥檛 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 and are interesting places to traverse. As a millennial whose chance of owning a house is as high as discovering a live thylacine, the subreddit also hits the spot.
Watch a Lengthy 鈥淚ceberg鈥� Deep Dive on YouTube
If you haven鈥檛 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 鈥渋ceberg鈥� 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鈥檚 an iceberg video on just about any topic you鈥檙e interested in.
Try on Every Outfit in Your Closet for Funsies
Would it be a sleepless night if you didn鈥檛 get the itch to try on different clothing combinations for increasingly specific scenarios that you鈥檒l probably never find yourself in? From what you鈥檇 wear when you stumbled across an old childhood crush you hadn鈥檛 laid eyes on in almost 20 years to the outfit you鈥檇 pick for the late-night talk show interview you鈥檝e never been invited to, the possibilities are endless.
Explore a Composer鈥檚 Oeuvre 聽
My music tastes are as varied as they come, but the thing I always gravitate towards when it鈥檚 eerily quiet outside is classical music. I鈥檓 a huge fan of Romantic and Baroque composers, but love a dash of cinematic scores here and there.
While Nicholas Brittel鈥檚 鈥淪trings Con Fuoco鈥� from the Succession score can鈥檛 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鈥檚 too tired to do much but your brain won鈥檛 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 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鈥檛 often have the patience to play against real people. Speed over strategy is where it鈥檚 at. So, I have a not-so-friendly rivalry with one of 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 Headed
I鈥檓 not an expert at reading tarot cards, but I鈥檓 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 鈥� audio or video 鈥� but I鈥檓 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, 鈥渟leep is for the weak鈥� is the only life motto worth following. If you鈥檙e 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鈥檚 not like you鈥檇 be sleeping anyway!
