Scientists' hypothesis: what happens to the brain after midnight

The article presents the 'midnight brain' hypothesis, according to which nighttime wakefulness alters brain biochemistry, increasing anxiety and distorting the emotional background. Neural networks enter a phase of decline, the prefrontal cortex reduces activity, leading to impulsive decisions. Researchers emphasize that the concept remains a hypothesis requiring verification.

The article on the Cursor Info website presents the scientific 'midnight brain' hypothesis, based on a publication in Frontiers in Network Physiology. According to the concept, after midnight, the natural circadian decline combines with accumulated fatigue, leading to changes in brain biochemistry. Neural networks, tuned during the day for productive communication and rational analysis, enter a phase of inhibition. The emotional sphere is particularly affected: a person begins to focus on negativity, anxiety and depressive tendencies intensify, and ordinary difficulties take on catastrophic proportions. The prefrontal cortex, responsible for self-control, reduces activity, making a person more susceptible to impulsive decisions and immediate reward stimuli. The author emphasizes that the concept remains a hypothesis requiring empirical verification and is not a diagnosis. The article is popular science in nature, without signs of propaganda or commercial orientation.