There are so many reasons I can never get to bed early. So many. And if you’re a night owl like me, you probably feel the same way. The bottom line is I don’t want to change. I want to world to adapt to me instead of vice versa.
But if you’re here because you’re looking for a little commiseration, here are the top 10 reasons I can never get to bed early. I don’t see any of it changing!
1. Because I don’t like to.
In fact, I like to stay up late and get up late. I’d actually like to be up and at ’em early in the morning and enjoy a full day starting with the solitude of the morning. I can get up but I’m certainly not at ’em. My peak brain time is 4pm to 10pm. Fact.
2. Because my child doesn’t go to bed early.
Yeah, yeah. It’s my fault. Partially. Evan doesn’t go to bed early because I don’t put him to bed early. He wakes up fairly late, doesn’t take naps, and honestly doesn’t get tired until at least 9pm. Even if I try to put him to bed, he lays awake and makes me stay with him. So why do I stay up late? Because when I do finally get him to go to sleep, I want some ME time.
3. Because my husband turns on interesting movies and shows right before I’m going to sleep.
He randomly picks an indie film on Netflix at about 11:30pm (on a good night). I have no clue what it’s about and have never heard of anybody in it. Yet it sucks me right in. He also keeps me up late with recorded episodes of Top Gear.
4. Because late night is my creative peak.
I can have all the time in the world during the day and I’ll never ben as productive during 5 daylight hours as I will be during 1 nighttime hour. It goes back to being a late night person.
5. Because I have to close up the house.
I don’t have a manor that requires that I check all outbuildings and carriage houses before retiring to my chambers. But I do have to let the dog out for her final pee of the night, get her treats, and take her upstairs to her crate. I also get stuff ready for the next day, set the alarm, take my medicine. I can never just lay in bed and collapse. Wish I could.
6. Because the internet is a rabbit hole.
Usually it starts with Twitter. Tonight it didn’t. I read an email from ShePosts about Miss Britt and her upcoming RV trip. I had recently met and talked to Miss Britt about her amazing excursion so I was drawn in when I saw they had reposted her video tour of her RV. I watched it. All 8 minutes of it. Then I clicked over to her YouTube channel and watched a video of her flat ironing her hair. I almost got sucked into some related videos but I stopped myself.
7. Because I’m a procrastinator.
I post on my blogs pretty frequently. I generally post 4 to 5 times per week here. I have a once a week gig at And NobodyTold Me and write twice a week at Social Dialect. Sound like a lot of writing? It is. And if you think I’m all super organized with editorial calendars, I’m not. I wing it. I write most posts the night before. And I never proofread (I should).
8. Because all the interesting people are on Twitter late at night.
There are cool people all day long, of course. But late night has a different vibe. Some people are drinking. Some are feeling down. Some are just looking for entertainment. Or simply they’re in another time zone.
9. Because bedtime is my time to play useless iPhone games.
Yes, I have stayed up until almost 3am playing Angry Birds. We all go through those obsessions, right? Right? But for me, I play some fun little words games. Lately my new thing is making sushi. I found a free app that had my son hovering over the phone. I finally got him the game too.
10. Because going to sleep is for sissies.
When I go to sleep, I’m giving up for the day. I’m done. It all starts all over again. Yes, I love to sleep. But I also love what I’m doing and there’s always something else I could work on. Sometimes I have to tell myself NO but usually it’s so I can have time to play my iPhone games. As my Irish MIL might say: You can sleep when you’re dead.
And there you have it. My late night list of reasons I can never go to bed early. It’s almost 1am. I think I’ll publish this just to prove my point.
41 comments
We are kindred spirits. I love writing at night. My husband was getting annoyed with the late night posting so I decided to write a post in the morning instead. Immediately, I got an email from a reader— “I don’t know why but today you are off. Not nearly as funny.” So much for that.
Now I am going to go to bed and play Bejeweled. Who am I kidding? I’m not going anywhere.
Ha! My husband tells me the same thing. Last night, I stayed up until 2am. I regretted it with my 7:30am wake up call and yet I doubt I’ll be in bed early. At least I’m writing early!
(note: just realized I called 9pm early)
I, too, don’t get to bed early. It’s all my own doing, I can’t even pin it on my toddler who’s in bed by 7.30pm most days. Twitter does suck me in. I’m one of those in another time zone, your morning is my night and vice versa. And I too, write very late at night!
7:30pm bedtime?? That sounds like heaven. But I’d probably goof off before even thinking of doing something productive. And I had no idea you were on the other side of the world. I love how this stuff unites us!
I just posted on twitter that I <3 late night peeps. It's a different vibe. I meet more moms like me at that time. I <3 to sleep, but I can't. Your list sums it up!
Okay. We’re definitely birds of a feather. Yes, I meet a lot of moms at that time. Just like me 🙂
I try to go to bed, but all blog post inspiration hits after 10:10 p.m. Like clockwork. So I might as well enjoy a nice glass of wine and get to know some folks also trapped on Late Nite Twitter. (I also need to do more proofreading, given the hour and amount of wine consumed when I write.)
Love that! The late night and glass of wine pretty much sums up this post. I do have to admit, though, that most of my inspiration hits me earlier in the day. I just don’t get around to writing about it until late!
You just hit the point. I’m a night owl too (so much for #1). And I definitely agree with #3, maybe that’s a male thing. Well, the internet/social media points speak for themselves. 😉 However, I found out my writing peak is when my tot is having his nap in the afternoon, if everything goes according to plan (my plan, but sometimes not the tot’s plan – sigh).
Aha! Then I’ve discovered your secret. You need to write under pressure! You know you have a finite period of time to get things done and that helps you crank it out. Now if only I could get my household to nap once a day…
Laughing out loud at this one as I sit here trying to publish by midnight… Thanks for a late night pick me up!
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It’s the creative time, the me time, the play time, the thinking time, the productive time… no interruptions! I love the night. Maybe there’s a genetic component.
Clearly. Not a one of us in the family likes early mornings. NONE of us. I’d like to keep it that way.
Love this! Myself, my body doesn’t seem to want to have a set time OR maybe I am truly a night owl that requires more sleep than that would give me…kids up early. What a terrific style you have for writing. And it hits the funny bone, but not in that bad way! Loved the last line.
Just so I’m clear. I love to sleep. And I require way more sleep than I get. And I almost always regret staying up so late. And then I do it all over again.
My Dr tells me I need more sleep.
I know i need more sleep.
BUT I can only think when the house is QUIET.
Nighttime, when I can hear my thoughts without an interruption.
Even twitter feels different at night.
Loved the creative thought behind this post.
I am up till 1:00 most nights.
You and me both. 1am is my usual bedtime although last night I pushed it until 2am. I’m dragging today!!! I think I would be more clear-headed if I got more sleep. But it just wouldn’t be as much fun. And I need quiet too. Totally.
I used to be a night person. Then, my kids started school and we had to be up at 7 am for school. I now need to get to bed by 11 so I get my 8 hours. You just adjust your me time.
Oh, but here’s the thing. When do your kids go to bed? Right now, it’s 10pm and my 4 year old is still running around like a lunatic. I have to take me time at night! And I’d still love my 8 hours too. Haven’t figured out how to work it all out yet.
I love the fact that I’m looking at this after how the ONE TIME I went to bed early…I didn’t sleep at all.
I think I could fall asleep early but I’m sure I’d wake back up during my “peak” hours 🙂
I have always been a night owl! But not it’s so hard to do anything after a day of entertaining two kids. And what is up with word games at night?? I will say I am going to bed after one game…and several hours later I am still playing…
Angry Birds will keep me up. But the word games? Put me right to sleep. True story: I fell asleep while playing Word with Friends. I dropped the phone on myself and woke myself up!
I used to love being up late – most of the time I don’t make it any more.
I’m the same exact way. My mind just works better at night
If I could pull all nighters every night, I totally would.
But morning would still eventually come. I love mornings except when I’m really tired. Which is most of the time.
In my case I could add that summer vacation has started. That means EVERYONE wants to stay up late. I have one kiddo who popped up to see because she can’t sleep either. This is my me time definitely, after all day with work (writing) and kids I need some time to just settle. Maybe I will hop over to twitter and see who is up too.
Since my little one doesn’t go to school yet, it’s like summer vacation every day. He wants to stay up with mommy and daddy every night. And would if we let him! But yes, I need time to settle. Even if it means talking with 4000 of my closest friends 🙂
WOW. I could have written this myself if I knew me so well. Loved every minute of it- the entire time I was reading I was nodding and quietly saying “Yessss… exactly!!!”
I think a lot of us blogging-twittering fools are birds of a feather. A little quirky, a little nerdy, a little social, and definitely night owls!
I’m starting to stay up later, too. My oldest has a later bedtime now, and I know what you mean. I want computer time then TV time…yada, yada, yada.
I’ve even started skipping TV time. I’m pretty much 100% computer time. I can’t tell if that’s better or not. Hmmmm.
I’m taking on so much lately that I really need to become a night owl. But I love getting up early and working in the silence of the morning. Unfortunately it doesn’t happen often. The days I do get up early, so does everyone else!
But YOU get up early for the same reasons so many of us stay up late at night. The quiet and solitude and hopefully inspiration! (not as easy at night when you’re tired)
I swore that I was going to get to bed tonight and whattaya know? Nope. Like you, I’m at my most creative from 10-2 am. The crappy part is I just can’t get up in the morning. My goal for the summer is to somehow turns this around. I need a fairy, a troll doll, a rabbit’s foot, anything lucky to make this happen. But sleeping is for sissies. Totally.
Oh hello. I’m Fadra. I swore I would go to bed early last night. Instead I went to bed at 2am. My 4 year old STILL doesn’t understand what “Mommy’s tired” means!
ha! Exactly.
ha! Exactly.
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