Sleep Before Midnight, 3

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) containing your biological clock, also governs your body temperature, hormone secretion, urine production, and changes in blood pressure. This complex system is also automatically linked with the rhythms of light and dark, day and night. A nearly immediate effect of going to bed after midnight is that it throws off your natural circadian rhythms, governed by your SCN, and this may lead to insomnia. As well as having a harder time falling asleep, you also will likely have trouble staying asleep. Even if you have a schedule that allows you to wake later, the noise and commotion of the day beginning will in all likelihood wake you before you wish. Studies have shown that night shift workers, despite having a schedule that allows for an adequate amount of sleep, get less sleep than those who work days. More tomorrow.