12 Things That Keep Unhappy People Up At Night

These things can keep an unhappy person tossing and turning all night.

A woman with curly blonde hair lies awake on her bed, resting her chin on a pillow, appearing thoughtful. A blurred alarm clock is visible in the foreground, suggesting early morning or late night.

Many unhappy people have difficulty sleeping at night. During the day, they have plenty of things to keep them occupied, but once the house quiets down and they aren’t engaged in responsibilities, the realities of their dismay can come creeping in. These are 12 things that keep a lot of unhappy people up when they’d rather be sleeping.

1. Regret (especially over missed opportunities due to fear).

A woman with long dark hair looks pensive, resting her head on her clasped hands. She sits on a gray sofa, wearing a light gray top, with a blurred background suggesting a home setting.

Just about everyone has something in their past that they regret, but few regrets are quite as potent as those surrounding missed opportunities. People who hold back from pursuing things (or potential love interests) out of fear often end up regretting their hesitance for the rest of their lives.

2. Past embarrassing or otherwise traumatizing moments that still haunt them.

A man with a beard and mustache, wearing a maroon sweater, is looking down pensively. He is outdoors on a sunny day, with blurred trees and a parked car in the background. Smoke or mist is visible around his face.

People who have done some truly cringeworthy things in the past are often kept up at night by the memory of how humiliatingly awful it was. Things get even worse if their actions hurt or damaged someone else—especially someone they cared about—and couldn’t be repaired.

3. Comparison with other people whom they think are more successful.

Close-up of two women, one in sharp focus and the other blurred in the foreground. The woman in focus has a serious expression and is wearing a gray top, while the blurred woman in the foreground wears a black top. The lighting creates shadows on their faces.

For a lot of people, thinking about others and fretting over what they haven’t achieved yet in comparison to them is what keeps them tossing and turning all night. Instead of recognizing their individuality, and that no two people can ever walk the same path, they fixate on their perceived inferiority.

4. Fears about future events that they have no control over.

A man in a white t-shirt and dark jacket sits outdoors in a park-like setting, with trees and grass in the background. He is looking down with a thoughtful or contemplative expression. The scene is illuminated by soft, natural sunlight.

One of the main things that keep unhappy people up at night is fear of the future. Many are wracked with anxiety about “what if?” scenarios that may unfold, including everything from the deaths of their loved ones to potential catastrophes like world wars or climate collapse.

5. Make-believe arguments that exist nowhere but in their own minds

A woman with short brown hair and an earring looks thoughtfully to the side, wearing a hoodie. The lighting creates a warm ambiance, with soft focus on the background.

Many people have experienced mental arguments with others that had no basis in reality. This often happens when people don’t address things that are bothering them, and let them build up without any type of resolution. They then have make-believe arguments in their own heads all night instead of sleeping.

6. Escapism from their current life circumstances.

A man gazes thoughtfully out of a train window, resting his chin on his hand. The light from the window casts a soft glow on his face, and the sky outside displays soft, muted colors.

Some of the unhappiest people around are those who are stuck in miserable circumstances and have no options on the table for escaping them. In situations like these, the only times they can have any type of solace or personal time to themselves is when everyone else is asleep.

7. The things they need to do, but don’t want to face.

A woman with long dark hair sits on a white sofa, gazing thoughtfully out a window. She is wearing a beige turtleneck and appears relaxed yet deep in thought in a softly lit room.

Maybe there’s a duty weighing on them that they’re evading, or a medical issue that they’ve been avoiding for years but can no longer ignore. They may not want to face these things, and are kept awake at night by the stress and anxiety of both the responsibility, and their own avoidance.

8. The partner they don’t want to be with anymore.

A man with short dark hair and a beard, wearing a gray t-shirt, is sitting on the edge of a bed with his hands clasped under his chin, looking forward thoughtfully. A bedside table with a lamp and a phone is beside him. The background has wooden paneling.

There are few things that can keep a person up at night quite like having to share a bed with a partner they don’t love anymore, but can’t (or won’t) leave for various reasons. Not only do they feel trapped, but they may be contemptuous of this person’s breathing, scent, and so on.

9. Their career.

A person with short blonde hair sits at a desk with closed eyes, pressing their fingers to their temples in frustration. They are wearing a sleeveless top and have a coffee mug in front of them. The background is a dimly lit office space.

Work-related issues keep a startling number of people up at night, especially if they work in high-stress environments such as law or medicine. They may be dealing with a truly awful case, or witnessed medical scenarios that keep haunting them every time they close their eyes, making sleep impossible.

10. Kids.

A person with curly hair lies on their back, holding a baby with light-colored hair on their chest. They gaze lovingly at each other, with the baby smiling and dressed in light-colored clothing. The background is a cozy indoor setting with soft lighting.

The average parent loses 133 nights of sleep before their child turns one, and that’s just the first year. Most parents won’t start to get decent sleep again until their kids are six or seven. If those kids have special needs, then the chances of them getting decent sleep again drop dramatically.

11. Health issues that won’t allow them to get decent rest.

A woman with blonde hair wearing a pink sweater and blue jeans sits on a gray couch with several white and gray pillows, holding her stomach and appearing to be in pain.

Coughing and sleep apnea keep many people awake, and those who deal with nerve, joint, or connective tissue pain can have a difficult time getting any sleep at all. This simply exacerbates everything, because they’re being driven mad by lack of sleep while simultaneously dealing with constant, unrelenting agony.

12. Existential dread.

A person with short, dark hair and bangs is seen in a close-up, contemplative pose with hands pressed together as if in prayer or deep thought. The background is blurred, featuring dark and colorful tones. The individual appears to be indoors.

One thing that keeps a lot of people up at night is the worry that they aren’t doing enough with their life. As such, they’ll lie in bed wondering whether they’re on the right path, or even doing what they truly want with the time they still have left on this planet.