Night, night, come again, I want to work, the day won’t let my brain!
For most people, life is all about being productive during the day; yet there exists a vast majority who pride themselves in finding peace and calm to be productive at night. This feeling of experiencing warmth and comfort during the night is called Nyctophilia. There have been many studies to show why this happens, but there aren’t any fixed answers.
Many claim that it is the different combination levels of serotonin and dopamine, and some just say that it’s merely a preference. A lot of this preference is based upon the personality of a person. The theory of Introversion and Extraversion might have a play in this, where a person who is more sociable, and extraverted might prefer the day, whereas a person who is more introverted might find solace in the calm and quiet of the night.
Literally, for many people, birds flying, bustling traffic, and sounds of the wind among others are necessary to function, yet in a parallel normal, the darkness, the quiet, the soft breezes, and the dim lights work wonders. Nyctophilia is common among teenagers, people in their early twenties, and even young adults. One example that comes to me naturally is of Safiya Nygaard. She is an American YouTuber who is known for her obsession with night, bats, and the moon (selenophile).
Many extrinsic factors too are responsible for this, and they could be procrastination, anxiety, stress, etc. Currently, many face the “Social Media Denomination” which is a situation where one doesn’t feel sleepy, hence they scroll through social media, eventually tiring themselves and then sleeping (I may be a victim too). I cannot help it.
For me, the night is the ideal time where there are fewer stimuli to distract me or tell me of all the household duties that I haven’t done. There is some peace behind knowing that everyone is asleep and nothing can disturb you, until the obvious dawn. “Night emphasizes many different things that need to be given more thought during the day. For me, it almost feels like the truth speaks louder after hours. I believe we can often hide behind the comely sunshine and blue skies, but we are faced with honesty once darkness hits" (Berlin A., 2019).
There is something about the night that brings out a certain bliss, and a feeling of contentment that the day cannot possibly create. When I draw light between the day and night, I am somehow reminded of the power of the night and its pull towards honesty, which the day does not have; on the contrary, the day only manifests the urges to lie. It is at night when your energies are spent from engaging with thousands of stimuli that you cannot possibly have the energy to lie.
This is why it is in trend among teens to have conversations at 3 because that’s when a person’s true nature is revealed. Maybe it is because deep down we all crave for that comfort of silence, and the truly genuine disposition, which otherwise isn’t on the schedule for most of our day.
Nyctophilia as opposed by many isn’t something out of the blue, or even abnormal. It is purely a choice, a comfort zone, and a feeling of ‘being at home, and THAT is purely dependent on the person (no judgments). Many people mistake it for insomnia, but we need to understand that it exists even though the lines are blurry. Insomnia does not give you the feeling of contentment, rather it is when you want to sleep, but aren’t able to.
Nyctophiles don't have trouble sleeping, so let us keep our dictionaries, and the ‘judging hemispheres’ aside, and enjoy whichever; be it day or night. You do You.
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