Being awake after midnight affects the brain

Although waking up is common for many, whether for insomnia or simply for pleasure, scientists have agreed that staying awake after midnight significantly affects the way we formulate ideas and even produces neurophysiological effects in our brain. The research was conducted by researchers at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania who named their hypothesis, “the mind after midnight.” According to the researchers, this occurs in most people after they stay awake during the circadian biological night which for many people is after midnight. In this sense, they affirmed that it is no coincidence that after this hour the way we interact with the world changes and the actions related to impulse control change: For example, many people seek guilty pleasures, such as food high in sugars or consuming cigarettes or other types of substances. In the article that was published in the scientific journal, Frontier in Network Physiology, it is recalled that, although it is already known that lack of sleep or deprivation of it leads to cognitive dysregulation of the behavior and functioning of our brain, the recent research adds data that suggest that changes also occur when the individual remains awake until midnight. In a nutshell, the research points out that from an evolutionary point of view it is consistent to think that humans are more effective at hunting, gathering or performing any other activity in daylight because our internal circadian biological clock is tuned to processes that promote sleep and not wakefulness after midnight. “My classmates can’t see you,” waitress ‘sees’ a ‘ghost’ child and talks to him (VIDEO)

Original source in Spanish