Since you're in EST like I am (Hi!), PC is probably slow around that time because that's when a chunk of America is getting home from school and signing right on and they stay on until late at night. PC lags for me around the same time as it does for you, and doesn't start getting better until maybe one in the morning. In the meantime, I go elsewhere on the Internet or go to work/enter the outside world.
Besides, it's not like PC is that active that you'll miss something so amazing if you take a break for an hour or more.
Go lurk around other websites, join another forum, draw a picture, write a story, take a walk to enjoy the fall weather, watch television. And by the time you come back, PC will load faster and there'll be more to do here.