“The night is dark and fraught with horrors.” If Melisandre said it, then there was a reason for it. But, leaving aside the link to Game of Thronesstill completely true. Who hasn’t woken up in the middle of the night from anxiety or extreme excitement? worry for a topic that in the light of day began to seem much more trivial? In fact, this is a trick of our brain, which is not ready for activity after midnight. Be wake up at dawn can play a trick on us.
The problem is that we don’t just wake up worried. It has also been observed that cases of self-harm and suicide are more common. between midnight and 6 am. Moreover, if we wake up at dawn, we are more likely to develop bad habits such as overeating or smoking.
This all sounds like a big problem, and it is. However, science suggests that this is the case. evolutionary advantages. In the past, staying awake at dawn could cost us our lives, so it was better if we were very alert to the dangers that lay in wait. Let’s see what exactly this means.
A blessing for our hunter ancestors
Before you give up your nomadic life and settle down settled populationpeople usually lived on hunting and gathering. Both tasks were performed much better during the day. This left the night to rest. The same as now. The problem is that this is precisely why our ancestors were much more vulnerable after midnight. They could become prey to some predator.
To some extent this has been avoided thanks to evolution. Gradually, our brain’s ability to be especially attentive to negative incentives at night. Thus, if a predator tried to attack at night, it would be alert, and a more harmless noise would not cause such a need for attention.
Today we are neither hunters nor hunted. At least not usually. However, our brain still retains this ability focus on negative stimuli if we wake up at dawn. Stimuli can range from thinking about these trivial everyday problems, to the need to smoke, to much more dire thoughts like the ones we mentioned at the beginning.
If we wake up at dawn, our circadian rhythms scream
Many physiological functions of our body continue. regular 24 hour chartscontrolled by something known as circadian rhythms. The most famous example is dreams.
When our brain detects light penetrating the retina, it interprets that it is daytime and therefore we should be awake. For this reason, it implements several mechanisms such as inhibition of melatonin secretion. It is a hormone that helps us sleep, so by reducing its secretion we will be more active. On the other hand, when the brain no longer receives as much light, it is interpreted as nightfall and it is time for us to go to sleep. In response, large amounts of melatonin begin to be released.
If we adhere to these circadian rhythms, staying awake at dawn will be unnatural. It’s true that many people work night shifts and have no choice. Others think they have “owl personality” and this, in contrast to “larks”they perform better on their tasks throughout the day. In many cases, your body gets used to it and new patterns are even generated. But the reality is that this is not normal.
If we don’t sleep when we need it, we will be more tired and irritable during the day. We may experience health problems in the long term. And, if this is not enough, we will intensify these intrusive night thoughts.
Therefore, if you have the opportunity, try not to stay awake for many hours after 12. Think about who is involved. Game of Thrones Every time night falls, listen to Melisandre.
Source: Hiper Textual
