After midnight, the brain runs on a different operating system. A 2022 paper in Frontiers proposes “Mind After Midnight,” the idea that our 24-hour biology tilts cognition and emotion toward sleep at night, not alertness. When we are awake during the circadian night, attention leans negative, inhibitions loosen, and reward circuits become easier to trigger, subtly reshaping how we judge risks and pursue impulses.⁠ ⁠ Across datasets, the pattern is consistent. Studies report higher rates of self harm and suicide overnight, with some finding roughly a threefold increase between midnight and 6 a.m. compared to daytime. Substance use and overdoses also skew late, including a Brazilian supervised use site reporting a 4.7 fold greater risk of opioid overdose at night. Even everyday choices drift, as after dark people preferentially reach for ultra processed, carbohydrate heavy foods.⁠ ⁠ Circadian biology reshapes neural activity over 24 hours. Positive affect, our tendency to view informatio...