We all have been there at some point or another: the magical, thought-provoking hour of 3 A.M. Sometimes you just stay up with friends and carry conversations on for hours, or you can’t sleep as your mind continues to contemplate the meaning of life (Sometimes literally). Of course, many of us have been awake at this hour to face the consequences of some world-class procrastination (don’t lie to yourself, we all do it). Of course, if you are up for that reason you tend to have only one thought outside of the work you are doing: “I’m never procrastinating again” (lol ok). So with all that being said, here are the things you always find yourself contemplating on a slap-happy night.

1. Religion

No matter what your religion is, you will contemplate many “what-ifs” surrounding religion. You aren’t outright questioning your faith (or lack thereof) but you think about a range of things from philosophical differences all the way to minute details.

What if I’m reincarnated? What was my last life like? What if I was a different religion last time? What the hell is scientology anyway?

2. The Universe

Ah, yes. The classic of 3 A.M. conversations. This conversation can be had every day and be taken in different directions each time, which is what makes it so interesting. It can lead to many, many tangents and digressions as well. This can even lead to conversations of other topics on this list, like religion.

Are we alone in the universe? Would those alien planets have their own Heaven? Or do we share the same Heaven? Am I going to see aliens in heaven? How big is the universe really?

3. What Am I Doing With My Life?

Oh boy. Often times, night time is where we rediscover (or completely conjure up) a crisis or stress point in our lives. This creates a cloud of worrying that will have you distracted and make it even harder to fall asleep. Sometimes you will wake up in disbelief at how bad you were freaking out the night before.

Where am I going? What is the point? What if I’m wrong? Where is my other sock?

4. I’m Going to Make Changes

You might find yourself with a ton of motivation and determination to fix (what feels like) huge holes in your life. Your mind is undoubtedly making a bigger deal of these problems than they actually are. Either way, when you wake up you will probably forget all about the motivation you had and will just want to go back to sleep.

Why am I doing this? Should I do this instead? Starting tomorrow, I’m making a change. Should I keep lying?

5. The Meaning of Life

Why are we here? Why am I here? These questions of purpose are another common topic we find in our late night discussions. It comes as a sort of meeting point between the two previous points on this list, and is the stereotypical “deep-thinking” subject of conversation.

What is the meaning of life? Why are we the only civilized animal? How did our bodies get so complicated? Why are there so many types of sandwiches?

6. The Good Old Days

Depending on how long you are awake and who you are with, your thoughts can get awfully sentimental. With that comes this topic. It is general enough that it can cover many prime scenarios. These range from the less-stressful days of high school with your friends, to your glory days in sports, to the blissful ignorance of childhood.

Remember when…? Can I go back to this? No, seriously, can I go back?

7. Haven’t Seen Someone/Something in Forever

On the case of sentimentality comes another big one. Sometimes reminiscing causes us to remember someone (or something) we haven’t seen in a long time. The nostalgia might drive us to make plans to reconnect with these old things. The next day we will probably lose all of that drive.

I haven’t seen them in forever! Should I call them? I’m going to call them. (Spoiler alert: You aren’t going to call them.)

8. What Am I Doing This Week?

Sometimes we take the time to do some planning and prepare ourselves for the events that lie ahead. That planning can go from the next day to the next week, or maybe just the big events coming over the next month or so.

Do I have to go anywhere tomorrow? Do I have homework to do? Am I forgetting something? Am I in an online class? I should probably check to see if I'm in an online class. Eh, I'll do it tomorrow.

9. I’m So Tired.

It’s 3 A.M. Why am I still awake?