Bad News Night Owls — Scientists Say We Should Be Asleep By This Time

I am a hardcore night owl. There is nothing calmer, more relaxing, more serene than the world after 11pm. My thoughts are clearer, my creativity is flourishing and everything just feels... better.

I’m not alone and, really, there are benefits. Let’s not forget that people who tend to be more alert during the early hours of the morning tend to score higher on cognitive tests.

However, new research has revealed that people like me shouldn’t get too comfortable in our nocturnal ways.

Your brain doesn’t function quite as effectively after midnight 

In the show How I Met Your Mother, there is a rule between the gang which says “nothing good happens after 2am”. Now, while the show is mostly forgotten by me, that mantra has stuck with me and according to a 2022 study, it’s definitely true for our minds. 

In their hypothesis called ‘Mind After Midnight’, researchers suggest that the human body and the human mind follow a ‘natural’ 24-hour cycle that influences our emotions and behaviour.

Science Alert said: “From an evolutionary standpoint this, of course, makes sense. Humans are much more effective at hunting and gathering in the daylight, and while nighttime is great for rest, humans were once at greater risk of becoming the hunted.”

Researchers are concerned that our increased attention to negative stimuli at night, combined with sleep loss, could lead to risky behaviours. 

“There are millions of people who are awake in the middle of the night, and there’s fairly good evidence that their brain is not functioning as well as it does during the day,” said neurologist Elizabeth Klerman from Harvard University.

“My plea is for more research to look at that, because their health and safety, as well as that of others, is affected.”

 While more studies need to be done, it’s clear that getting some shut-eye before midnight is essential.