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HaRav Netanel Levihim –
The Gemara, Berachot 4b, establishes that reciting Keriat Shema al HaMita — the first paragraph of Shema upon going to bed — is a mitzvah. The Shulhan Aruch, OH 239:1, rules that one should say Shema and afterward recite the beracha of Hamapil. The Bet Yosef writes the reason it should be said close to sleep is in order to to fall asleep with the words of Keriat Shema on his lips. Therefore, a person should try not to have a hefsek (break)— such as eating or drinking — between Keriat Shema and sleep.
Unlike the morning and evening Shema recited during tefillah, which has its own set of berachot, the bedtime Shema itself has no beracha before or after it. The beracha of Hamapil is not a beracha on the mitzvah of Kriat Shema, but rather a beracha for thanking Hashem for bringing sleep, instituted on a person as he prepares to go to sleep.
The Ben Ish Hai, Pekudeh 12, writes that many have the minhag not to recite Hamapil with mentioning Shem Hashem, out of concern that they might make a hefsek between the beracha and falling asleep — by talking, eating, or drinking — which would render it a beracha levatalah. He concludes that if one’s minhag is to say it with a beracha, care must be taken not to interrupt between the beracha and falling asleep; and if the minhag is not to say it with Shem Hashem, one should still have Shem Hashem in mind while reciting it.
However, the Halacha Berurah, based on Yehaveh Da’at 4:21, points out that this beracha is like any other birkat hashevach, and is not conditioned on the person’s own behavior— just as one who recites Hanoten LaSechvi Vinah in the morning does so even though he did not hear a rooster crow. The only inyan not to have a Hefsek is to go to sleep right after reciting Shema, as cited in the Bet Yosef (ibid). If he needs to eat or drink, it is best to repeat Kriat Shema again.
The Or LeTziyon, 2:15:12, writes that each person should follow his own minhag.
Regarding recitation after hatzot, Rav Ovadia Yosef, in Yehaveh Da’at 4:21, initially wrote that Hamapil should be said without shem u’malchut after hatzot. The Halacha Berurah 239:9, cites that Rav Ovadia later retracted and held that it should be said with shem u’malchut even after hatzot, and instructed his son to publicize that this was his own practice as well. The reason is because it is a time when most people are sleeping, and therefore it is still a proper time to give a birkat hashevach and thanks to Hashem for bringing sleep into our lives.