If I've ever spoken to you about my sleeping patterns, I've probably said something along the lines of, "I either die in my bed for 12 or more hours or I lay there with my eyes closed for two hours before I give up."
I've always had an odd love-hate relationship with sleep, ever since I was little and had nightmares every other day. Years later, I would find myself sleeping entire days away, getting up solely to eat or remind my family that I wasn't actually dead. Over winter break just a few months ago, my sleeping pattern essentially made me nocturnal. I was doing all my activities and fulfilling all my responsibilities in the middle of the night or way early in the morning. I've always been pretty used to waking up at 8 p.m. and going to sleep just before noon during long breaks between school, but before that break, my nightly adventures weren't very "adventurous."They were mostly spent watching whatever was on TV until I felt tired. I mean, you couldn't do much at 3 a.m., especially if you lived somewhere where the nightlife consisted of getting ice cream past sundown. Nothing wrong with ice cream, but generally speaking, there wasn't much to do.
It was during that winter break that my mind started to change. Just because it's a late hour doesn't make 3 a.m. any less part of a 24-hour day than 4:30 p.m. It's just quieter, darker and there are less people to talk to.
Thinking back to all those insomniac nights I had waiting for the semester to start: if you're in a position where everyone will hate you if you play your drum kit to pass the time, here are a few suggestions of what to do during those ungodly hours. Just make sure that you get to bed eventually!
1. Break out the clay and pastels
I have made so much artwork at night; so many sketches, sculptures and pieces of pastel work. Fortunately for me, a few didn't come out complete crap! While the rest of the world is quiet, take advantage of the few distractions you have to do the things you wouldn't normally have time for, even if it's not art! Take this time to practice your craft, clean your room, read your books, do whatever! The universe has handed you a wonderful chunk of time, so why not use it?
2. Get out and go for a drive
I'm going to be honest with this one: if you live anywhere like the Hudson Valley, there's probably not going to be anything open except for that one 24-hour grocery store. And there will definitely be a decent chance that you're going to be the only one there. So you can go, if you'd like, but in this case, the point of the ride is not to go from point A to point B, but more so just to get out of the house for a little bit and refresh yourself. Staying indoors for such a long period of time can make you feel stuck so get off the couch and step out for awhile. You'll be thankful that you did.
3. Eat something
This one's kind of important. Because perhaps you have associated meals with times of the day where people are normally awake, you may forget to eat. In order to be awake for such a long time, even if it is at night, you still need to keep up your health and energy. To my insomniacs out there, if anything, eating will sometimes actually help you get back to sleep. Just no caffeine for you, okay?
4. Exercise
Yup, I said it.
Alright, listen buddy. It's late. I don't want to do it. You don't want to do it. We would both rather veg-out on the couch for the next eight hours, I know. But you and I both know that's not healthy for us. So may as well tire ourselves out before we do.
5. Treat yourself!
You made it. You practiced what you needed to practice, you went for a five minute outing, you ate your post-dinner pre-breakfast meal and you even did a sit-up. Congratulations, because we all knew this was going to end up on this list. It's time to treat yourself. No distractions. No people. No reason not to. So make your snack bowl and watch seven seasons of "Adventure Time." You deserve it. There's no shame anymore.
