filed in Daily Life
Late Night Companion
Illustration by Brian Rea
Discussion
10 comments for “Late Night Companion”
Leave a Reply
About this Site
FIRST PERSON SINGULAR is a guide to surviving, thriving and sometimes just getting through a single day. Created by Wendy Braitman (more…)
Follow First Person Singular
Greatest Hits
© 2010 First Person Singular. 
At home, no. At a hotel, sometimes.
I don’t have a TV in my bedroom because I don’t want to develop the habit.
A couple times a year I stay up until the wee hours surfing channels aimlessly (TV is in the living room). I’m so tired the next day, with nothing to show for it. I can’t afford to take that habit into the bedroom.
I second this. Those nights I stay up for no reason lead to terrible days.
What ususually draws you in during those late night TV sessions?
I don’t usually watch much TV at all (<3hrs week). I suppose it's a combination of not being able to sleep (so I don't go to bed), and seeing "new" things that are barely interesting enough to keep me watching. A couple times it's reached 5am and Frasier repeats come on. I have to stay up for that.
I can relate to the not being able to sleep part. I’ve gotten a lot more disciplined about staying away from the computer before bed. That could really keep me up.
Hotels are also where I watch TV in bed.
I do. It’s a terrible habit, but when I get home from the office most nights I am so damn tired — physically and mentally — I just want to fall into bed. I’m too spent even to read, but I still need a distraction from the day’s stress, so on goes the TV. I inevitably fall asleep while watching, so I use the timer function to turn off the TV after it’s been on for a hour or 90 minutes.
I completely understand, Karen, that TV helps you relax after work. Reading takes effort. But it’s good you have the timer function, because certain TV can put anyone to sleep.
I only watch two tv shows at their regularly scheduled programming times, no bingeing. When I was growing up, our family time was spent around the tv. My parents didn’t have the time or energy for other interests. I wanted a different life, so I force myself to do other things after work. I taught myself to play to mandolin, for one. There was one period in my life in 2014 that the only way I could get to sleep was by watching videos. When my first love married someone else, I fell into complete despair during which I cried all day and at night, was afraid to be alone with my thoughts. I had to keep playing youtube videos for company and watched until 1 AM or 2 AM just so I wouldn’t have to think. That lasted about a month. Shark attack videos were my go-to. I don’t know why, but they calmed me. It was a very nutty time.
Maybe shark attach videos seemed tranquil compared to your heartbreak.