Disturbed sleep can seriously impair rational thinking, which can lead to impulsive behavior
The early morning hours may be the most dangerous for someone on the verge of suicide or homicide, according to a new study.
Researchers report that those awake between 2 and 3 a.m. are five times more likely to commit suicide and eight times more likely to commit homicide.
“Disrupted sleep can seriously impair rational thinking, which can lead to impulsive behavior in susceptible individuals,” said Andrew Tubbs, a researcher in the University of Arizona’s Sleep and Health Research Program and lead author of the study.
According to researchers, statistics show that about 19% of suicides and 36% of murders occur at night.
For the new study, they analyzed 15 years of data on more than 78,000 suicides and 50,000 murders in the United States.
Teens and young adults are three times more likely to kill themselves at night, researchers said May 29 Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
The risk of suicide at night is also higher for those who drink alcohol and who fight with their partner.
In fact, it has been found that the number of suicides peaks at 12:00 a.m. and the number of murders peaks between 10:00 and 11:00 p.m.
Staying awake at night interferes with the brain’s complex decision-making functions, researchers report. It reduces rational thinking to a stage where a person’s negative mood is at its peak and positive thinking is at its lowest.