In between Sarah McLachlan torturing millions of Americans sitting in their underwear eating Cheetos late at night and sexy singles hotline ads, I like to spend the majority of my evening watching “Law and Order: SVU.” Weekend parties and one too many all-nighters have resulted in my new favorite neurosis: insomnia.

I’m not alone in this wonderful, refreshing sleep disorder that doesn’t allow me to get some much-needed shut eye until 3 a.m. Judging by the cracked-out glances I’ve been noticing at Rodgers Library, most of you aren’t sleeping till then either. Detective Benson has been helping sleep-deprived college students for the last 15 years.

The show has aired more than 332 episodes and doesn’t appear to be stopping any time soon. In the third season, the highest-rated episode came in at 15.2 million viewers, and the show now only garners an average 7 million viewers each week. Mariska Hargitay won both a Golden Globe and an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her performance on the show. Currently tied at sixth place with “ER” for longest show running, “Law and Order: SVU” appears to be in this for the long haul.

I’m a little late in the game to “Law and Order: SVU” bingeathons, but over vacation my sister showed me the art of “SVUing” the days away. No matter what time of day it is, you can always count on a network to be showing “Law and Order: SVU” marathons. So, that’s how I spent my winter vacation – just me, my sister and New York City’s finest 16th precinct.

Now that I am hooked, I can’t stop watching, and there are enough episodes to last me every day for the next year. My days usually begin with blasting Pandora and dancing in my Spider–man underwear and end with my annual pilgrimage from the three-and-a-half hours at the gym. Needless to say, my day doesn’t stop till around midnight when I finally have time to lay down and relax.

However, by then I’m so wound up from stress and the prospects of what tomorrow has in store I can’t even imagine going to sleep. Try as I may to wean back my bedtime hours, it just has not happened yet, and until it does, there is only one sound that always welcomes me home at the end of a long day.

“Dum dum,” the two-tone beat that follows every scene in “Law and Order: SVU.” Only two notes and the audience can immediately identify which show they are watching. Those of you who are new to “SVU,” I encourage you to indulge yourselves in America’s favorite past-time since “I Love Lucy.” It’s not just the sleepless and hungover who enjoy this suspenseful show, but men and women of all ages who love to see crimes solved and justice served.

And the greatest part about this show is that you don’t have to follow each season in order to know what is going on. So while you’re up late tonight working on that essay due at midnight or tossing and turning in bed trying to get a little shut eye, flip the channel to “Law and Order: SVU.” Believe me, it’s worth your time.