How to Stay Up All Night Alone (for Kids)

Co-authored by Hannah Madden

Last Updated: March 19, 2022 Approved

If you’re a night owl, you might like staying awake well into the night to play games, read, or just hang out. Staying up for the entire night can be fun, but if you are alone, it can be difficult to keep yourself awake. If you really want to stay up all night but you don’t know how, try taking a nap beforehand, playing video games to keep yourself awake, going on social media, and eating healthy snacks that don’t have a lot of sugar in them.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Know The 4 Sections Of The Night

Knowing the 4 sections of night will help you. There is early night (9:00-12:00) late night, (12:00-2:00) and midnight (2:00-4:00) ^{[1]
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1
Make a plan beforehand^{[2]
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- Making a plan will help you, and will help you know what you will be doing. It's easy to know what you are doing then to not, which can make you fall asleep more.^{[3]
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Tip: Make sure you don’t have any important responsibilities the day after your allnighter, like projects, presentations, or family gatherings. You will probably be tired and you won’t be able to do things as well as you normally would.
If you play sports or do a physical activity as a hobby, you will probably be super tired by the time night time hits. Try to avoid staying up all night on days that you have had a game or a match that left you feeling tired. Your body will need to rest afterward, and you might be too tired to stay awake.^{[4]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Keeping Yourself Occupied

1
Binge-watch a TV show or movies. Keeping your brain occupied will help you not fall asleep. Choose a TV show with a lot of episodes to binge-watch or pick out a couple of movies that you’ve been meaning to see and keep them on as you try to stay awake. Turn the volume down low so that you don’t wake up anyone else in your house. TV shows that are binge-worthy include Riverdale and Stranger Things. Binge-worthy movies include Jurassic Park and Black Panther.^{[5]
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- If you have a streaming service like Netflix or Hulu, you can easily watch a ton of episodes of TV.
Video games keep your brain engaged. Play your favorite ones throughout the night to keep your brain awake. Try playing online ones so that you are interacting with other people, since this will make it harder to fall asleep.^{[6]
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Tip: If you can, bring your video game console into your room so you don’t wake up your family.
Your friends might be posting things on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook late into the night if they are awake. You can also browse YouTube and watch a variety of videos to keep you entertained. Keep your volume down low or use headphones to avoid waking anyone else up.^{[7]
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4
Talk to your friends by texting or video chatting with them. Even if you are not physically with your friends, it can be much more fun to stay up all night if you have someone to talk to.
- Text or video chat with your friends to see how long they can stay awake. You can even make a competition out of who can stay awake the longest.^{[8]
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- Make sure your phone volume is down low so you don’t wake anyone up with your ringtone.
5
Stock up on snacks to eat during the night. Since you are staying up for the entire night, you will probably get hungry at some point. Bring some snacks into your room to eat throughout the night. Avoid sugary snacks, since those can cause you to have a sugar crash and fall asleep.^{[9]
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- Fresh fruit, crackers, and trail mix are all filling snacks that don’t have too much sugar in them.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Waking Yourself Up if You Feel Tired

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Drink coffee to help you stay awake. Coffee has caffeine in it, which means it will keep you up and help you avoid feeling tired. Try to drink 1 cup of coffee at the start of the night to help you stay awake if you are feeling tired.^{[10]
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- If you don’t normally drink coffee, don’t drink more than 1 cup. It can give you the shakes and make you feel more tired if you drink too much.
2
Avoid laying in your bed or getting too comfortable. Your bed might seem like a great place to sit and relax, but this can signal to your body that it is time to fall asleep. Stay away from your bed or laying on a super comfy couch until you actually want to fall asleep. Try to sit on a chair with a back instead.^{[11]
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- If you only have a bed to sit on, try putting some pillows on the floor to make a seat that is comfortable but won’t make you fall asleep.
3
Splash some cold water on your face to wake you up. If you start feeling super tired, go to the bathroom and turn your sink to the coldest it can get.
- Cup some water in your hands and splash it into your face until you feel awake again. This will shock your body and make it harder for you to go to sleep. You can do this a couple times throughout the night if you need to.^{[12]
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- Try not to splash water all over your bathroom when you do this.
Doing exercise can help your body think that it is time to stay awake. If you start feeling tired, do some simple jumping jacks and lunges to wake your body up. Try doing exercises until you are slightly out of breath to get your heart rate up. This will circulate more blood and oxygen throughout your body to keep you awake.^{[13]
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Tip: Jumping jacks can be loud. Try doing sit-ups or pushups instead if you are worried about making too much noise.
5
Change out of your pajamas to keep yourself awake. When you wear pajamas, you signal to your body that it is time to go to bed. Wear clothes that you would normally wear during the day, like jeans and a t-shirt, to subliminally tell yourself that it is time to stay awake.^{[14]
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- You can even put your shoes on if you want to signal to your body that it really is time to stay awake and be active.
6
Keep your lights turned on if you can. Making your room dark will probably make you sleepy. If you can, keep your lights on and bright to make sure you can’t fall asleep easily. If you can’t leave your lights on in your room because other members of your family might see them, take a flashlight with you and keep that on as you stay awake. You could also try putting a rug under your door so your family do not see.^{[15]
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- Overhead lights will keep you awake even more than lamps, since they are usually brighter and stronger.
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What if your parents are light sleepers?

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If your parents are light sleepers you can use headphones with games and music. Try not to put the radio and/or TV on too loud. Move to the room as far away from your parent's as possible to minimize noise.

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What do I do if my parents take away my devices, I do not have a TV, and my room is next to theirs? They are light sleepers.

Nightcore Flower

Community Answer

I have the same problem. I usually prepare some snacks and cold drinks and leave them on my nightstand, along with some coloring books and pencils. Get a book and a flashlight so you can read, and get up and stretch every hour or two so you don't fall asleep.

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What if you don't have anything to do?

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You should plan ahead of time what you are going to do throughout the night. If you run out of things to do, make another list. When the house is quiet and dark, all sorts of new possibilities jump out.

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