The mind possibilities of "after midnight"
- sciart0
- Apr 15, 2025
- 1 min read
Excerpt: Waking up in the middle of the night used to spike my anxiety. I’d panic about losing sleep, which would only lead to more lost sleep, and more panic, until I wore myself out or the sun came up.
But over time, I realized that those wakeups weren’t always bad. Some of my thoughts during those half-asleep moments turned out to be surprisingly useful. They helped me generate article ideas or navigate complex, ambiguous problems. Eventually, I saw that this altered state of wakefulness let me engage with life’s challenges in ways I couldn’t during the day.
It turns out that I wasn’t alone.
YOUR MIND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
In a well-known study from 2022 titled Mind after Midnight, a team led by scientists at the University of Arizona found that late-night thoughts tend to be negative, more ruminative, and more impulsive. They also found that being awake during the night increases risky behaviors and makes risky rewards seem more appealing.
