The researchers looked at empirical evidence from earlier studies on sleep and its impacts on cognition and functioning.
Scientists claim that the human body and mind behave in a certain way at specific times of the day and follow a circadian clock.
A new hypothesis was presented this year in Frontiers in Network Physiology, which contends that the human mind is not intended to be awake past midnight. The authors of the study claim that after midnight, a conscious mind is more receptive to unpleasant than good feelings. They stress that staying up later than usual can make the mind more susceptible to suicidal ideas.
The human circadian rhythm, which is the body’s inherent internal process that synchronises the sleep-wake cycle every 24 hours, may have a considerable impact on these variances, the research suggests. Previous studies have looked at the harmful impacts of interrupted or insufficient sleep, such as increased stress, heart problems, and dopamine alterations that could potentially lead to addiction.
Uninterrupted sleep the night before helps the next day’s mental clarity and general well-being. The researchers made the decision to look at whether nocturnal wakefulness, or choosing to stay awake throughout the biological or circadian night, results in maladaptive behaviours, or activities that are against one’s own interests, such as violent crime, drug use, or even suicidal thoughts. How mood, reward processing, and executive function alter during overnight wakefulness was explored by the researchers.
The researchers looked at empirical evidence from earlier studies on sleep and its impacts on cognition and functioning. They claim that the human mind and body behave in a certain way at specific times of the day and follow a circadian clock. Because of this, the body wants rest at night even when molecular and brain operations remain busy during the day.
Additionally, overnight wakefulness may have an evolutionary impact on maladaptive behaviour. The brain developed higher sensitivity to unpleasant stimuli during this period because nighttime hunting was a serious threat to early people who lived in the wild.
Parvathy Sukumaran 
