Here’s What Keeps Jimmy Fallon Up At Night

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon is the top late-night show among the 18- to 49-year-old set. He’s become known for the jokes and songs he does with his guests, which go viral on social media. Just this week, he and Jon Hamm recreated the iconic Creed song “With Arms Wide Open” on a Scottish Glen. A year ago, he and Paul Rudd sang an ode to their favorite hat called “Teenie Weenie Beanie.”

But to be this endless source of hilarity, Fallon needs to stay well rested. So he takes sleep very seriously. So seriously, in fact, that he’s helped design a sleepwear collection called P’Jimmies with the cult fashion brand Alex Mill that launches this week. It includes crisp cotton pajamas, eye masks, socks emblazoned with “Zzzzz” and an ingenious tote bag that transforms into a blanket, for easy, on-the-go napping.

I sat down with Fallon to discuss his bedtime habits and the advice he has for getting the best possible sleep.

[Photo: courtesy Alex Mill]

Your career involves you being very engaged and funny in the evening, from Saturday Night Live to The Tonight Show. Is it hard for you to wind down and get to sleep?

I think it’s tougher and tougher as I get older because I just come up with ideas throughout the whole night. They’re all insane, but some of them are really good. Like, that’s how I came up with the idea of the song “My Tight Pants.” [A song he sings with Matthew McConaughey.] But I hate the idea of not remembering them the next day.

So I always record my crazy ideas on my iPhone voice memo app. I feel bad for my wife because I’m always waking up and making these voice notes, with a quote. Sometimes it’s a great quote and sometimes it’s a terrible quote, but at least I want to get it out of my brain. It’s the one thing about technology that has been good for me. As soon as you have an idea, write it down.

[Photo: courtesy Alex Mill]

Do you have any tips for optimizing your sleep, when it does come?

I’m 50 years old, and I’m only now slowly learning about life. I’ve been trying to do my research about how to have better sleep. I read this book called The Oxygen Effect about how much better it is to breathe through your nose, rather than through your mouth, because it gives you a better HRV level, which is your heart rate variability.

So I’ve been doing this new thing where I put on mouth tape when I go to sleep. Some people are mouth breathers, and others are nose breathers. If you’re doing a lot of talking—which I do—you’re probably more of a mouth breather. And mouth breathing does not optimize your oxygen levels.

The mouth tape doesn’t actually force your mouth closed, right? It just reminds you to breathe through your nose.

Correct. It’s not kidnapper tape. That’s in a different aisle. Don’t go to the hardware store for mouth tape. Go to the pharmacy.

The other thing I’ve been doing is Breathe Right [Nasal] Strips on my nose to help with snoring. It’s a horror movie on my side of the bed. It’s like the Twilight Zone over there. My wife is so lucky. My pajamas are the only sexy thing about me when I go to sleep.

I’ve also heard on the Strike Force Five podcast that you like to eat in bed.

That was the biggest controversy in the world! I didn’t think it would be such a big deal. I still do it.

I think it’s a comforting thing. I think it started when I was growing up and I was sick. Like when you’re 6, you feel so lucky if someone brings you soup or breakfast in bed.

That does sound good. But I heard you like ramen in bed. I was just trying to figure out the logistics of that.

I mean, with balance and skill, anything is possible. It starts with popcorn and other gateway snacks. Then an ice pop and a tub of Ben and Jerry’s.

In the new Alex Mill collection, there’s a tote bag that turns into a blanket. Did you come up with that for naps?

I love napping. I’m a great napper. I try to take a 20-minute nap every day on the couch of my office. But I can nap anywhere. If this conversation were boring enough, I would nap right here. It’s really an important part of staying productive. I wake up fresh and ready to go.

[Photo: courtesy Alex Mill]

The world has been very stressful lately, and many people turn to your show to help them feel less stressed. What do you do to cope with how stressful the world is right now?

Without comedy, I don’t know how I would get through anything in life. And the more serious stuff is going on in the world, the more comedy you need. The best way to start moving forward is with a sense of humor.

With the show, I realize that people are watching us for this reason. They need an escape. We want to allow people to go to bed with a smile on their face. Even the monologues are important. We get some news in, but we turn them into jokes, so people can let go a bit. And sometimes, it’s just about being weird, like putting Jon Hamm and me on a Scottish mountain singing, “With Arms Wide Open.”

Do you ever worry you’ll run out of ideas?

Always. I always get to a point where I can’t think of another thing. But the next week, in the middle of the night, new ideas will pop into my brain. It’s often nothing good, but sometimes it is. I’ll just record everything on my phone.

---