Scientists warn: the human brain is not meant to be awake after midnight

Neurologist Elizabeth Klerman of Harvard University hypothesized that the human nervous system experiences increased stress if the body has to be awake after midnight. According to statistics from a drug treatment center in Brazil, most patients successfully cope with cravings during the day. But at night, they find it much harder to resist temptation, they lose control and the risk of overdose increases by 4.7 times.

According to Clairman, this peculiarity of the nervous system arose in the course of evolution. Humans are most effective in daylight, but in the darkness they become helpless and can fall prey to predators. Therefore, in light we behave rationally, but in darkness our senses are heightened. The work of our senses and brain is aimed at searching for negative and threatening factors, and instead of acting consciously we tend to act impulsively, relying on our instincts – in ancient times this helped to preserve life.

However, in the modern world everything is different, so the increased sensitivity to negativity at night leads to deplorable situations. In 2020, there was a study of suicide statistics in Western countries, which showed that between midnight and dawn, the likelihood of suicide triples. Another example paints an unhappy picture for students who try to cram all night long, but instead acquire mental disorders.

Clermann stresses that there is no scientific evidence to support this hypothesis and that the work is still in its infancy. Perhaps this is not the case, and the main factors are sleep disorders and disturbances in circadian rhythms. However, it is difficult to deny the facts – being awake after midnight is not good for a person.