From a certain time, not falling asleep can have harmful consequences on the brain and mental health.
Bedtime is important to maintain a regular sleep schedule and make it through the next day. Falling asleep too late can even affect your brain, according to researchers who have studied how human brain systems work at night. As reported in a study published in Frontiers in Network Psychologymedical specialists from the University of Arizona and Philadelphia have indeed discovered neurophysiological changes that take place in the brain after nightfall.
While during the day, neuronal activities are tuned to the waking state, they adapt to sleep at night. “So, if we are awake at these times, the neurophysiology is likely to promote behavioral dysregulation,” the experts explain. In summary: staying awake at certain times disrupts our brain and affects our behavior. And the study particularly highlights effects on mental health.
“There are millions of people who are awake in the middle of the night, and there’s pretty strong evidence that their brains don’t function as well as they do during the day,” said neurologist and study author Elizabeth Klerman from Harvard University.
Among the health effects highlighted in the study, some are well known such as intense fatigue or more unknown, such as a tendency to prefer an unbalanced diet at late hours, processed, fatty or sugary foods.
The expert is particularly concerned about people working staggered hours such as health professionals, firefighters, pilots. “I advocate for more research to look into this issue because their health and safety, as well as that of others, is affected,” she said.
According to the study, after a certain time, attention to negative stimuli would intensify. This focus can be positive if it increases our vigilance, but it can also lead to risky behaviors such as the consumption of alcohol or drugs, but also gambling.
A study complementary even states that, in the most extreme cases, the risk of suicide is three times higher after a certain time than the rest of the day. This critical hour is midnight, hence the name of the phenomenon explained by the study: “Mind After Midnight”. The brain is therefore not designed to be awake at that time.