People Who Stay Up Too Late & Hate Their Lives The Next Day Usually Have 7 Reasons They Can't Shake
Niko Pacheco / Shutterstock I’m always the last person in the house to go to sleep, no matter who I live with. I love spending hours late into the night enjoying my hobbies. I’ll make sure I get time to myself, even if I don't get home until after midnight. On those nights, I know I’ll be up until at least two in the morning. It's always the wrong choice, and it always leaves me feeling exhausted the next day.
We all need our sleep, and when we don’t get it, it can really mess with our physical and mental health. I get mad at myself for doing this because I know I’d have a better day if I just forced myself to go to sleep, but there are several reasons why I and others can't seem to shake the habit.
People who stay up way too late and end up hating their lives the next day usually have these reasons they can't shake
1. They have anxiety
I’m sure we all have moments when we’re lying awake at night and can’t help but remember something that happened five years ago. They're usually embarrassing moments that we can’t help but cringe at. These memories can lead to people staying up all night wondering why they would even do that.
People with really bad anxiety do this all the time. According to the Sleep Foundation, anxiety makes it harder “to fall asleep, stay asleep, or get restful sleep.” Even when they do fall asleep, the quality isn’t what it should be.
Poor sleep can make someone’s anxiety even worse. They’ll have a harder time handling their everyday stress the next day and end up getting frustrated with themselves because they’ve made their lives harder.
2. Someone puts pressure on them
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I’m so bad about saying no to plans. I’ve had so many nights where I’ll be lying in bed and a friend will text me to hang out. I know I should just go to sleep, but I don’t. People like me can’t help but give in to their FOMO (fear of missing out). They feel pressured to stay up later if their friends are still awake, especially if they're all together. Even if the night ends up being really enjoyable, these people still get frustrated at themselves for making the wrong choice.
They prioritized being social over sleeping, and it'll come back to bite them. They’ll probably be too tired to socialize with people the next day, and their plan to get as much social interaction as possible ends up backfiring on them.
3. They love a good midnight snack
Some foods take a long time to cook, but that doesn’t stop people who stay up way too late from making them at night if they want them badly enough. If they're really craving a specific meal or snack, they’re probably going to make it. They’ll choose their cravings over their sleep, then realize the next day they shouldn't have done that.
When you eat food right before bed, it doesn't process as well in your stomach. It's a habit that can harm their gut health, so people who consistently have midnight snacks will hate themselves when they're having stomach issues the next day.
4. They can't stop doomscrolling
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Social media is many of my friends' main reason for staying up too late. They can’t make themselves get off their phones and go to bed. It's not entirely their fault. Social media is incredibly hard to turn off. People who doomscroll aren't able to pull themselves away because of how social media affects us. It makes our brains feel good, making it harder to stop.
That’s not to say they all like social media, though. A lot of them say they wish they didn’t doomscroll. Unfortunately, they just don’t know how to stop. Just like any bad habit, it’s a hard one to break. These people end up hating themselves the next day because they know they fell into the trap and can't pull themselves out of it.
5. They get jolts of inspiration
For a lot of night owls, inspiration only hits after dark. They’ll think of a new idea late at night and feel the need to do something about it right at that moment. They’ll start a new project that they probably told themselves won’t take that long. These projects almost always take way longer than expected, though, no matter what it is.
People are less focused at night, so it’s harder to do things efficiently. People who stay up too late give in to their idea and can’t put down whatever new idea or project they started even when it means sacrificing their sleep. When they wake up, they’ll probably realize how much faster they could’ve done it if they weren’t tired. They’ll be mad at themselves for not having thought ahead and realizing there’s a better time to indulge in a spark of inspiration, like the next morning.
6. They want to get in one more chapter of their book
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It's not a necessity, but this thought process is still a reason some people can't make themselves go to sleep when they know they should. People tell themselves they'll read one more chapter or watch one more episode before they fall asleep. They're bargaining with themselves because they know they need to go to bed, but they can't rip themselves away from whatever story they're consumed in.
They're trying to balance their desire to be healthy and their desire to keep reading, but this method rarely works. A lot of times, this reasoning will come up at the end of every chapter, not just the one they originally told themselves would be their last. These people get stuck in a cycle of bargaining and breaking the deal they made with themselves.
They stay up way too late and are mad at themselves for not following the rules they originally laid out. They may also feel defeated for not prioritizing their health like they wanted.
7. They feel socially drained
When I hang out with friends too many nights in a row, my social battery goes down to zero. I want time to myself to do the things I enjoy, like writing and reading, that I haven’t been able to do with friends. I like to think it helps reboot my social battery, but it usually has the opposite effect. While those things can make you feel better, it’ll only work if you’ve had enough sleep. No matter what steps you take to re-energize yourself, if you’re not sleeping, it won't work.
People who lose sleep because they're socially drained usually end up realizing they didn’t help themselves like they were trying to. They'll get frustrated at themselves because they'll be even more exhausted the next day.
Lily Bell is a college student studying English and Publications who covers relationships, mental health, and personal narratives surrounding the human experience.
