A good night text can have a positive impact on you. It can also alleviate needless worry or anxiety.
Whether you’re receiving a text related to business or one that’s about personal matters, you may have wondered how or when you should answer.
The response to a good night text message can be honest and emotional with people close to you. If the text is work-related or from people who mean little to you, a reply on the following morning will suffice.
Romantic Texts
Many people immediately think of romantic texts when they hear about a good night text. These texts may be received from someone interested in you. You may also receive texts from someone in who you are not interested.
Your response in all of these cases will depend on how you feel about the person. It’s important, to be honest with yourself and recognize when you’re attracted to someone. [1] If someone who you’re interested in sends you a romantic text, you could respond with:
“You should be tired because you’ve been running through my mind all day.”
“I feel refreshed just by knowing you’re close by.”
“I’m longing to spend time with you. Counting the days until we can spend time together again.”
Sometimes you’re not interested in speaking to the person because you feel that they want to use you. For example, if you receive a good night text from someone who is not completely interested in you as a person but wants something from you and is pretending romantic interest, you could:
- Ignore the text.
- Tell the person not to text you anymore.
- Let the person know that you have different agendas and you both don’t see relationships in the same way.
Respond with Humor and Imagination
Stresses are part of modern life. Many people appreciate it when their partners partially alleviate their stress in some way on occasion. For example, when someone sends a text, they usually appreciate a kind word in response. [2] A combination of kindness and humor goes a long way.
The kindness that you show in your response can help your partner to feel refreshed.
Of course, every person has to learn to manage their emotions and deal with stressful situations. Each adult should have been learning coping mechanisms that are healthy through childhood.
However, an extra word of kindness does a lot of good.
You can say:
“I wish that talking to me was the most stressful thing you had to do today.”
“I know you can’t fall asleep without me.”
“After we text you’ll float into Dreamland.”
Imagination is a gift. Each human being has been designed with the ability to imagine different places and situations that are healthy and calming. You can even use your imagination to help your love interest look at a stressful situation in a new way.
You can text:
“I imagine taking long walks with you.”
“You can get through this.”
“I imagine holding you in my arms.”
“I imagine being there to rub your tired feet.”
You Occupy My Thoughts
If a love interest has sent you a good night text, it’s probably because they’ve been thinking of you throughout the day. You can let them know that you also had them on your mind.
You can text:
“I miss you. You were on my mind all through lunch today.”
“Since you and I have started these new jobs it’s been hard to spend time together. We really have to plan our schedules better.”
“I’ve been thinking about you all day too. It makes my heart glad to know that you’ve been thinking about me.”
Friendly Blessings
Friends sometimes send texts at night to build each other up. Some do it to check on friends who live alone to ensure that they haven’t suffered an accident or any mishaps. Others do celebrate after a goal is achieved, wish their friend well, or simply strengthen the bonds of friendship in other ways.
To affirm your friendship, your friend may send a thoughtful text to remind you of how much they value your friendship. They may also affirm your qualities such as your reliability, wisdom, or the fact that you’ve always been supportive.
You can respond to any of these texts with thanks and genuine appreciation for their blessing.
Sometimes a friend may text to wish you peaceful rest after a long day. If they know that you’ve been under stress or have been having difficulty sleeping for other reasons, they might text to try to put your mind at ease.
Some may even text to remind you to take medications if your days have been so busy that you’ve mentioned forgetting to keep up with these. Respond by taking the appropriate action and then letting your friend know that you appreciate their words of encouragement and their thoughtful reminders.
When you’ve been through a tough time, a friend might text you to remind you that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. This type of good night text is sent with the hope that you won’t spend the night worrying.
Your friend wants you to be optimistic. However, if there are thoughts that are concerning you, text back to let them know so they can encourage you.
If you have an important meeting or another event coming up, a friend may text to boost your spirits. They might remind you that you’ve got what it takes to do well. They might also remind you of all the doors that will be open for you when you excel.
You can respond with:
“Thank you. I appreciate your encouragement.”
“I’m looking forward to it. It’s good to know that you’ll be praying for me.”
“I’m going to do my best. I wish you success tomorrow as well.”
Government and Community PSAs
Many people live in disaster-prone areas. In these regions, whenever there is a storm approaching or some other natural disaster is developing, government agencies will send out texts at night time.
These texts advise residents on actions that they should take if an emergency develops during the night. These may be sent out every week or whenever there’s a risk of a natural disaster occurring.
In this situation, you can respond by checking to ensure that your emergency gear is in good working order. You can also remind everyone in your household of the steps to take if there is flooding or some other problem during the night.
Unless you’re asked to respond to a government agency to confirm that your household is safe, you don’t need to respond to these texts.
Family Texts
Family members might text you during the night for different reasons. Some may think of information that they need to share with you right before they drop asleep, so they text you. That way, they’re less likely to forget to do it later on. Others may be texting with a request.
For example, if you and your spouse are on vacation, your children might text you every night. This might be because they’re used to saying good night to you when you’re at home. They may ask questions or just want to receive a sweet message from you.
You can text them back to let them know that you received the information. Otherwise, they might not be sure that you’ve read their text.
You could say:
“Hi Aunt Marjorie. Thanks for letting me know that you will be flying to Argentina tomorrow.”
“Good night kids. Sleep tight. Don’t let the bedbugs bite.”
“Hi James. Thanks for letting me know that you got into college. That’s great news.”
“Hi Sammy. We won’t be using the mountain bikes tomorrow. If you want to borrow them, you can.”
“Kids, your mom and I will be home by 5:00 p.m. tomorrow. Tell Aunt Emma that we’ve already booked the taxi service for pickup.”
Business-Related Questions
Most people would like to receive a text from someone they love at some point during the day. However, no one looks forward to a nighttime text from their workplace that requests information or reminds them of a deadline.
Despite that, some people do receive texts of that nature close to their bedtime. If a coworker has sent you a request for information because they’re at work finishing up a project while you’re preparing for bed you can respond by:
- Sending them the information if you know that they really need it and you want to help.
- Sending them the information in the morning, if it’s something that they do habitually even after you’ve already spoken to them about it.
- Delegating the responsibility of assisting them to someone else who might be more knowledgeable.
There are many times when you’ll want to help a coworker when you know they’re rushing to meet a deadline. However, it’s not always a good idea to answer business-related texts right before bed. This is especially true if you’re so tired that you’re likely to make mistakes. Limit nighttime work communication, such as calls, texts, and emails.
Give yourself time to rest. You can always answer a text in the morning when you’re fresh and alert. At that time, you may also have better responses to their questions than you will when you’re exhausted or in a fog.
Sources:
[2]: https://hbr.org/2018/08/how-to-help-your-spouse-cope-with-work-stress
Sophie Hammond is a journalist, psychologist, and freelance speechwriter for people in politics and business. She lives on the edge of the Rocky Mountains with her dog and a lifetime supply of books. When she’s not writing, she can be found wandering through nature or journaling at a coffee shop.
