Favorite Late Night Programs to Watch

Whether it is due to worry about the future, adrenaline after finishing a late night of work, or odd bout of insomnia, I usually find myself turning to television in hopes to find something to calm my mind into some sort of slumber. I read some studies saying the television before bed is a bad thing to which I say bollocks in a hat. After trying late night exercising, book reading, video game playing, and sleeping pill taking, I found that television-if stupid enough-does relax me into slumber. Or if I really can't sleep, the late night at least makes the programming seem a lot better than it should be. Either way it is win-win. So here are a few DVDs or television shows I find myself as 2AM becomes 3AM or 5AM.

Creature Features

Creature Features has been a staple of late night television since the 60s. A recent boom has brought them back thanks to the return of "Elvira's Movie Macabre" where the titular Elvira plays a public domain B-movie and pokes fun at the acting, plot, and other things that make the film so bad. These types of films really go well with a late night. The movies are a lot easier to laugh at and forgive for being so laughably bad. Occasionally the films take on a life of their own and become good in their own right. Another Creature Features program "Cinema Insomnia" puts it best: "They're not bad movies- just misunderstood." The hosts of the films whether it is Elvira or "Cinema Insomnia's" Mr. Lobo adds a degree of depth to the program where it feels like they too are watching the film with you and coping with this by skewering it where it needs skewering. In the end the late night film either puts you to sleep or introduces you to an obscure film.

Infomercials for Music Compilations

I wonder how infomercials for CDs are still alive after the invention of the MP3 and iTunes. But somehow these infomercials promoting songs of the 60s or malt shop melodies continue to inexplicably survive just like Justin Bieber's appeal. Nevertheless, the music is soothing and brings me back to the bygone days when singers sang instead of relied on Auto-Tune. It plays like a jukebox on scan and lulls me to sleep before I end up ordering something I could just as easily customize via iTunes.

" Everybody Loves Raymond"

Whether at 2AM or during prime time, it's a pretty good show that usually focuses on one plot per episode that is paced well.

" Spongebob Squarepants"

My girlfriend told about how she falls asleep to the children's show "Spongebob Squarepants." The sheer brainless comedy of each episode means one less thing to think about and soon it's slumber time. I tried it myself and it is more effective than a boring lecture.