What To Watch When You Can’t Sleep

Maybe you can’t find a way into dreamland, but you can transport yourself to a whole new environment if you watch Richard Attenborough’s celebrated ocean life documentary, The Blue Planet. The series features breath-taking underwater vistas and plenty of whale song. 

Watch It on Netflix, Hulu & Amazon.

Were you always falling asleep in history class? Well, then, the cure for your insomnia might be the super-detailed documentary series, Monarchy. As thrilling, bawdy and gory as British history is, historian David Starkey doles it out slowly enough that you should be catching ‘z’s’ well before William the Conquerer takes Britain. 

Watch it on Netflix.

Not in the mood to listen to a British guy talk about oceans or dead kings? No worries! Why not try the dreamy French film, Renoir? The film tells the story of artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s last model,  Andrée Heuschling, who winds up falling in love with his listless son and future film auteur Jean Renoir. It’s gorgeous to look at and the film moves slowly like a shifting shadow. Oh, and if you really can’t sleep, there’s bonus nudity. Go Watch It: Renoir

Insomnia is no excuse to stop geeking out. Tons of classic Doctor Who episodes are now available to stream, but we’re partial to “The Mind Robber.” The classic adventure pits the Second Doctor, Patrick Troughton, against a mysterious foe who seems to have all of literature at his command. It’s cooler and trippier than it sounds.  Watch Doctor Who, “The Mind Robber” on Netflix, Hulu & Amazon.

Modern Times is one of those landmark classics that everyone should watch at least once in their lifetime. It’s a cinematic masterpiece, but��it’s also been known to induce lots of late night dozing. So, if you fall asleep during it, you win because you fell asleep. If you manage to get all the way through it, you also win because you can brag to people at parties that you watched Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times. It’s a win-win.

Go Watch It: Modern Times

If you’re stressed out and want to dream of true love, pop a melatonin and start streaming the classic 1995 adaptation of Pride & Prejudice. The BBC miniseries is laboriously faithful to Jane Austen’s novel, which means there’s hours upon hours upon hours of classy British people repressing their feelings. Warning: you might not want to fall asleep before Colin Firth’s infamous “wet shirt” scene. Watch Pride & Prejudice (1995) on Amazon. 

The endlessly delightful Stephen Fry has a sonorous voice and kind manner. He also has a bunch of documentaries and specials currently streaming. We’d opt for Stephen Fry In America, though, if you’re trying to drift off to sleep. It’s a six part series that follows the curious Brit across the 50 states. 

Watch Stephen Fry In America on Netflix.

Ken Burns is the king of documentary filmmaking and his special on America’s National Parks might be the prettiest, most majestic one and the one least likely to jolt you out of a deep slumber on the couch. 

Watch Ken Burns: The National Parks: America’s Best Idea on Netflix. 

We dare you to stay awake long enough to finish this. Go on. Finish it. Tell us what happens. Do the deer do things that only deer do? 

Watch The Private Life of Deer on Netflix. 

When in doubt, always watch Cheers. You’re not going to be put to sleep by how intellectual or boring the show is, but you will fall asleep because you’re so relaxed and happy to be in the company of familiar characters like Sam, Diane, Woody and Cliff. 

All 11 seasons of the classic NBC sitcom are streaming on Netflix.