16 Night owls reveal what they do while the rest of the world is sleeping

Growing up, I was a bona fide night owl. I’d regularly stay up until 2 or 3 A.M.—and subsequently curse myself when my alarm went off a few hours later at 6:45 A.M. Waking up early was never easy for me, and it wasn’t until I landed my first full-time job that I actually managed to consistently fall asleep before midnight and wake up before, well, noon.

Part of me misses these late nights—and envies those who still take advantage of them. My job requires me to be at the office by 10 A.M. (later than your average workplace), and I’m very committed to getting my eight hours of beauty rest every night. (The National Sleep Foundation recommends a full seven to nine hours of nightly sleep. And yes, there are consequences to cutting it short.)

Still, I’m intrigued by any adult who’s constructed their life such that they can stay up late and still accomplish all the things they need to. A night owl schedule isn’t in the cards for me until I’m free from the constraints of the 9 to 5 (or in my case, 10 to 6), but for now, I can vicariously live through those with fewer limitations.

Here, 16 night owls walk us through some of the stuff they’re doing after the rest of us have already gone to bed.

1. Anna McNaught, 27

Bedtime: Between 1:30 and 2:30 A.M.

Wake-up time: Between 8:30 and 9 A.M.

Job: Photographer and graphic designer

Bedtime routine:

6:00 P.M.: Wrap up work before making and eating dinner with my fiancé

7:30 P.M.: Browse social media

9:30 P.M.: Brush teeth and run through my nightly skin-care routine

10:00 P.M.: Check my email and start photo editing

12:00 A.M.: Say goodnight to my fiance and start working on another project

2:00 A.M.: Think about sleeping—and then dive back into my work

3:00 A.M.: Go to bed

“I’ve found night to be the time of day when I’m most productive. For whatever reason, I just end up in a creative zone at night. I usually work until I feel sleepy, but if I get into a groove, I could probably keep working all night!”

2. Karen Ricks, 43

Bedtime: 5 A.M.

Wake-up time: 9 or 10 A.M.

Job: Chef

Bedtime routine:

8:00 P.M.: Make and eat dinner with my family

9:00 P.M.: Read books to and play games with my son

10:00 P.M.: Put my son to bed and take a nap

1:45 A.M. Get up from my nap

2:00 A.M.: Hop on a conference call and work on my online continued education program

3:00 A.M.: Outline and edit stories for my cookbook

5:00 A.M.: Go back to bed

“My best working hours are usually between 2 and 4 A.M.”

3. Mindi Sue Black, 48

Bedtime: 2 A.M. at the earliest

Wake-up time: 7 or 8 A.M.

Job: Vice president of PR at a boutique agency

Bedtime routine:

7:30 P.M.: Get home from work

8:00 P.M.: Feed and walk my dog, call family members to check in with them, or head to a nearby pub for trivia

8:30 P.M.: Do yoga or play soccer

9:45 P.M.: Eat something, check my email, turn on the TV, and write up my to-do list for tomorrow

11:00 P.M.: Watch the news and have a cocktail

12:00 A.M.: Hop in bed and read, write, or watch TV

1:00 A.M.: Check my email again and take my dog outside really quickly

3:00 A.M.: Go to sleep

“I’ve been a night owl since I was a little girl. I work hard during the week; the weekends are for sleeping, and I take full advantage of that.”

4. Natasha Geraghty-Medved, 34

Bedtime: Between 1:30 and 2:30 A.M.

Wake-up time: 7 A.M.

Job: Marketing manager

Bedtime routine:

9:00 P.M.: Eat dinner

10:00 P.M.: Get some work done

12:00 A.M.: Work on personal projects and watch a movie

1:30 A.M.: Try to go to bed

“When I lived in Spain, I used to take a couple of naps (siestas) throughout the day. There, I got eight hours of sleep broken into chunks. Here in the United States, I sleep get six or seven total hours of sleep.”

5. Kate Fellows, 48

Bedtime: Between 1 and 3 A.M.

Wake-up time: Between 7 and 7:45 A.M.

Job: Business owner

Bedtime routine:

8:00 P.M.: Get my kids ready for bed

8:30 P.M.: Read a book to (and snuggle with!) my youngest

9:00 P.M.: Say goodnight to my oldest and read with my middle child

9:30 P.M.: Hop on the treadmill for a quick workout

10:00 P.M.: Remind my middle kid to stop reading and go to sleep

10:05 P.M.: Put on a background movie and edit a book for my business

11:00 P.M.: Make sure my middle kid is actually asleep

11:05 P.M.: More editing

12:00 A.M.: Flip on another movie and do some design work

2:00 A.M.: Hop in bed and spend some time reading the news

2:30 A.M.: Set my alarm and go to sleep

“I’ve always been a night owl! I love how quiet the house is at night.”

6. Robin Young, 35

Bedtime: Between 1 and 2 A.M.

Wake-up time: 6 A.M.

Job: Fitness website owner

Bedtime routine:

7:00 P.M.: Put my son to bed

8:00 P.M.: Spend time watching Netflix with my partner before she goes to bed

12:00 A.M.: Make some coffee and do some work

2:30 A.M.: Drink a protein shake and head to bed

“I’ve always been a night owl. With this routine, I’m able to get a full day’s work in, and still spend quality time with my son.”

7. Christel Chaunsumlit, 46

Bedtime: 2 A.M.

Wake-up time: 7:30 A.M.

Job: Small business owner

Bedtime routine:

8:30 P.M.: Head outside for my nightly walk

8:45 P.M.: Call my mom

9:00 P.M.: Prepare for tomorrow’s work day

9:30 P.M.: Hop on a quick business call

10:15 P.M.: Work on creative projects

10:45 P.M.: Check social media

11:00 P.M.: More working on creative projects

12:30 A.M.: Eat a late night snack

12:45 A.M.: More preparing for work

1:30 A.M.: Hop on an international call for work

2:15 A.M.: Knock out that creative project from earlier

3:00 A.M.: Force myself to sleep

“My routine is pretty flexible. I don’t have to be zombie—I choose to be!”

8. Bonnie Winston, 54

Bedtime: Between 1 and 3 A.M.

Wake-up time: 7 A.M.

Job: Matchmaker

Bedtime routine:

7:00 P.M.: Eat dinner and catch up with my husband

8:00 P.M.: Spend time with my son, read to him, and give him a bath

9:00 P.M.: Catch up with my West Coast clients

10:30 P.M.: Catch up with my friends and family on the West Coast

11:00 P.M.: Check my email, network, and scout potential clients online

12:30 A.M.: Watch TV—usually Alfred Hitchcock Presents (totally old-school, but great drama)

1:30 A.M.: Read—either historical fiction or the latest selection by my book club

“I like going to sleep late, because I’m in a business where I have to always be ‘on’—scouting people, networking, etc. It’s nice to have some me time, and the quiet hours between 11 P.M. and 2 A.M. give me that.”

9. Tatiana Bonneau, 33

Bedtime: 2 A.M.

Wake-up time: 10:30 A.M.

Job: Startup founder and CEO

Bedtime routine:

8:30 P.M.: Spend time with my kids while they’re eating dinner

9:30 P.M.: Put the kids to bed with songs and stories, then have dinner with my eldest

10:20 P.M.: Have coffee with chocolate or ice cream

10:30 P.M.: Get back to work and catch up on emails

11:00 P.M.: Brainstorm new ideas for my startup, consider recent feedback

12:30 A.M.: Catch up with any of my employees who are still online

1:30 A.M.: Check my email again, write what I need to, chat with coworkers, and either read in bed or think about what I need to accomplish tomorrow

2:00 A.M.: Write down anything that’s still on my mind and try to fall asleep

“Staying up at night gives me more freedom during the day; I don’t have to rush through anything, because I know I have that extra time to work on it while everyone else is sleeping. The peace you have at night isn’t comparable to anything else—it feels like time slows down.”

10. Ash Thoms, 23

Bedtime: Between 2 and 3 A.M.

Wake-up time: 7 A.M.

Job: Marketing coordinator

Bedtime routine:

7:00 P.M.: Go to the gym

11:00 P.M.: Catch up with two of my best friends (they’re also night owls)

12:00 A.M.: Shower and get ready for bed

12:30 A.M.: Watch Netflix or work on projects until I fall asleep

2:00 A.M.: Turn off my electronics and wait for sleep to hit

“I live with two other people and three dogs, so the house can get hectic. I don’t get a whole lot of time to just be; but when you stay up late, it feels like nobody else exists. The way the sky looks in the middle of the night is a nice bonus too!”

11. Joanna Lin, 29

Bedtime: Between 2 and 3 A.M.

Wake-up time: 8:30 A.M.

Job: Social media consultant

Bedtime routine:

10:00 P.M.: Get home from work

10:30 P.M.: Take a shower

11:00 P.M.: Do some social media work

12:00 A.M.: Practice French on Duolingo

12:30 A.M.: Write in my notebook, blog, or edit photos and videos

2:30 A.M.: Head to bed

“I’m a full-time freelancer, so my days and nights are always different. It’s worth noting that I have clients in France who are six hours ahead of me, so sometimes it pays to be up so late/early!”

12. Kayla Rose, 23

Bedtime: Between 2 and 3 A.M.

Wake-up time: Between 9 and 11 A.M.

Job: Publicist

Bedtime routine:

7:00 P.M.: Work out

8:30 P.M.: Shower

9:00 P.M.: Make dinner while checking social media

9:30 P.M.: Eat dinner while watching Netflix

10:00 P.M.: Check my to-do list to see which of today’s tasks are still outstanding (and get to work on those)

11:45 P.M.: Brainstorm and write out my to-do list for tomorrow

12:15 A.M.: Get to work on the most time-consuming tasks on tomorrow’s to-do list

1:30 A.M.: Schedule pitches to go out later in the morning

2:00 A.M.: Take a quick break to check social media

2:30 A.M.: Go to sleep

“A lot of great new ideas pop into my head at night. If I don’t sit down and flesh them out then, I might not remember them later.”

13. Jordan Rosenacker, 30

Bedtime: Between 2:30 and 2:45 A.M.

Wake-up time: 8:45 A.M.

Job: Startup cofounder

Bedtime routine:

10:00 P.M.: Work on my creative projects (plan them out, brainstorm strategy, etc.)

1:00 A.M.: Read a book about politics, psychology, or religion

2:00 A.M.: Watch an episode of West Wing

“Pro-tip: Don’t drink too much water between midnight and 3 A.M. You’ll end up logging some serious late-night cardio by waking up and running to the bathroom every two hours.”

14. Demia Doggette, 31

Bedtime: 3 A.M.

Wake-up time: 10 A.M.

Job: PR agency owner

Bedtime routine:

9:00 P.M.: Write pitches and press releases to send out tomorrow

10:00 P.M.: Nurse my seven-week-old

11:00 P.M.: Send work updates to my staff

12:00 A.M.: Nurse my little guy again

1:00 A.M.: Update my to-do list

2:00 A.M.: More breastfeeding

3:00 A.M.: Finish any writing I need to do

4:00 A.M.: Head to bed

“I feel like my brain works best late at night. I always joke around that I should hire someone who lives in Europe so we can be up working at the same time.”

15. Jen Mavros, 37

Bedtime: Between 3 and 5 A.M.

Wake-up time: Between 10 and 11 A.M.

Job: Entrepreneur

Bedtime routine:

8:00 P.M.: Eat dinner with my husband

9:00 P.M.: Watch Netflix with my husband until he goes to bed

11:00 P.M.: Post up in my home office, check my email, and browse social media

11:30 P.M.: Get to work on bigger projects

12:00 A.M.: Take some time to meditate

1:00 A.M.: Record any audio I need, write some emails, schedule social media posts for tomorrow, and prep lessons for classes I’m teaching until I decided to go to sleep (usually between 3 and 5 A.M.)

“I’ve struggled my whole life to adapt to the 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. schedule. Once I became an entrepreneur and was able to create my own schedule, I was able to really embrace my natural rhythms.”