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davidvkimball

- 2 years ago

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Why do people become more sentimental at night?

It's true! As the day progresses into the late evening hours, people often open up more and it creates a whole unspoken aura of sentimentality.

Whether it's sleepovers (they're notorious for this), late-night hangouts or camping trips with friends, it seems this happens consistently.

Is there a reason for this?

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i think its because its right about the time when you start resting your crazy mind and clearing away all of the work related crap that runs throughout your mind during the day. with all that extra space your emotions can finally move in and help you organize your thoughts. organizing thoughts bring up memories and goals etc. my teacher who basically talks about 'just being in the moment' for his whole class says that we should allow ourselves to rest in the day time as well. just a simple five minutes of silence and rest - it'll probably make the day more productive.
have i actually had the chance to do this? nope. and so i'm a mess at night but it's worth a shot.

i've always wondered this too, i find i become more sentimental and a tad more emotional at night. i don't know the reason though...

Fatigue/build-up of lactic acid from the day's exertions -- plus knowing those exertions are over for another cycle -- rendering one more relaxed, at ease, open?

(How's that for a romantics-buster!?)

For me it's the same with romantic moments(or just cuddling up with someone when you wouldn't usually be that kind of close).

Always at night.

Now I'm always wondering how things will advance if I spend time with people in daylight >.< It sounds silly but I ache to spend evenings and beyond with people, that tiredness when watching a film on the sofa and you just fall asleep with your head on the other person's shoulder and their head ontop of yours.

and it might just have to do with the fact that we get tired.......lol

Okay this is going to get boringly scientific for a minute...

Most people know the whole left-brain/right-brain thing, for logical and emotional thought, but there's some newish research that shows that in fact, we only use one half at a time, and switch back and forth, left to right, several times per minute. There's a strong correlation between a person's skills or career and their average switching rate. Musicians, dancers and sportspeople switch rapidly, blending the two in a fast paced processing of simple tasks. Scientists, computer programmers, mathematicians and buddhist monks switch very slowly, for sustained processing of complex ideas.

But late at night, everyone's switching rate slows, as part of the whole circadian rhythm thing. This is why it's a strong part of geek culture to produce a high output of quality work after midnight - because the logical side can sustain longer streams of thought.

Okay so.. my theory is that maybe the same is true for purely emotional thoughts - maybe that's why D&Ms tend to take place late at night, in the last hours before sleep.

The moon, the darkness, the drinks....possibly...

It's the darkness, I think, along with the secretive confidence nature that comes along with darkness. During sleep-overs you're in the dark, the nighttime (if it's day-time then you're just wierd). I think we all feel we can share things about ourselves at nighttime more than daytime because we feel a sense of seclusion, exclusivity, belonging--a certain "what is said here is just for us, because everybody else is asleep...shh!" It works for late-night television, right?

I think they feel hidden in the dark so they can be free to be more like who they are..
some take this freedom to the dark side..
some take this freedom to a deeper level then just seeing what they can get away with..

the sun gives us the energy to make it though the night..
the night is time to ponder our life in the sun.

@davidvkimball Washington, US

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Why do people become more sentimental at night?

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i've always wondered this too, i find i become more sentimental and a tad more emotional at night. i don't know the reason though...

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Fatigue/build-up of lactic acid from the day's exertions -- plus knowing those exertions are over for another cycle -- rendering one more relaxed, at ease, open?

(How's that for a romantics-buster!?)

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and it might just have to do with the fact that we get tired.......lol

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The moon, the darkness, the drinks....possibly...

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Why do people become more sentimental at night?

i've always wondered this too, i find i become more sentimental and a tad more emotional at night. i don't know the reason though...

Fatigue/build-up of lactic acid from the day's exertions -- plus knowing those exertions are over for another cycle -- rendering one more relaxed, at ease, open?(How's that for a romantics-buster!?)

and it might just have to do with the fact that we get tired.......lol

The moon, the darkness, the drinks....possibly...

What's Next?

Fatigue/build-up of lactic acid from the day's exertions -- plus knowing those exertions are over for another cycle -- rendering one more relaxed, at ease, open?

(How's that for a romantics-buster!?)