The human mind is not designed to stay awake past midnight.

After midnight, negative emotions tend to capture our attention more than positive emotions.

The mind after midnight is very different

Some researchers believe that human circadian rhythms are deeply involved in these important changes in how we function, as they noted in a 2022 paper synthesizing evidence of how brain systems function differently after dark.

Their hypothesis, called the 'Midnight Mind ,' suggests that the human body and mind follow a natural 24-hour cycle of activity that influences our emotions and behaviors. In short, at certain times of the day, humans tend to feel and act in certain ways.

There is growing evidence that the human mind functions differently when awake at night - (Photo: Canva)

For example, during the day, our brain activity is tuned to stay awake. But at night, our normal behavior is to sleep. From an evolutionary perspective, this certainly makes sense. Humans were more efficient at hunting and gathering during the day, and although the night was good for resting, humans used to face a higher risk of becoming prey.

According to researchers, to cope with this increased risk, our ability to pay attention to negative stimuli is unusually enhanced at night.

While it once helped us respond to invisible threats, focusing too much on the negative can make a person more susceptible to dangerous behavior. When combined with sleep deprivation, this state of consciousness becomes even more severe.

More research is needed to find out

'My call is for more research to look at this, because the health and safety of many people is at stake ,' said neuroscientist Elizabeth Klerman of Harvard University. The authors use two examples to illustrate their point.

The first example is a heroin addict who can control his or her cravings during the day but cannot resist them at night. The second example is a college student struggling with insomnia who begins to feel hopeless, lonely, and depressed as the sleepless nights pile up. Both of these scenarios can eventually lead to fatal consequences.

Suicide and self-harm are very common at night. In fact, some studies report that the risk of suicide is three times higher between midnight and 6 a.m. than at any other time of day.

A 2020 study concluded that night owls are a risk factor for suicide, 'possibly through circadian rhythm imbalance.'

Illicit or dangerous substances are also more likely to be used at night. In 2020, research at a supervised drug consumption center in Brazil revealed that the risk of opioid overdose was 4.7 times higher at night.

Some of this behavior may be explained by sleep deprivation or the concealment afforded by darkness, but it is also possible that there are neurological changes at night.

Researchers like Klerman and her colleagues say further investigation into these factors is needed to ensure protection for those most at risk from night owls.

To date, the authors say, no studies have looked at how sleep deprivation and circadian rhythms affect reward processing in a person's brain. So we really don't know how shift workers, like pilots or doctors, cope with their irregular sleep schedules.

For about six hours a day, we know very little about how the human brain works. Whether asleep or awake, the mind after midnight remains a mystery. The research was published in the journal Frontiers in Network Psychology.