Research reveals that hitting the snooze button makes you more tired
Ever feel more tired after hitting the snooze button? Well, science reveals there might be a reason.
Researchers at Mass General Brigham found that over half of sleep sessions logged end with a snooze alarm, with an average snooze time of 11 minutes.
Lead author, Rebecca Robbins, said:
“Many of us hit the snooze alarm in the morning with the hope of getting a ‘little more sleep,’ but this widely practised phenomenon has received little attention in sleep research.
“In a global sample, we found that more than half of sleep sessions end in a snooze alarm, and users spent an average of 11 minutes in between snooze alarms each morning before waking.”
According to Robbins, hitting the snooze button and returning to sleep messes with your sleep cycle:
“Unfortunately, the snooze alarm disrupts some of the most important stages of sleep,” Robbins adds.
“The hours just before waking are rich in rapid eye movement sleep. Hitting the snooze alarm will interrupt these critical stages of sleep and typically only offer you light sleep in between snooze alarms.”
Instead, Robbins recommends setting your alarm to the latest time available:
“The best approach for optimizing your sleep and next day performance is to set your alarm for the latest possible time, then commit to getting out of bed when your first alarm goes off.”
To wake up without hitting snooze, Health recommends:
- Set your alarm for the latest possible time you need to get up
- Place the alarm away from your bed
- Improve your sleep hygiene overall
- Log your sleep habits
Having a good sleep schedule is incredibly important for your overall health.
And though it might seem easy to hit the snooze button, maybe try to avoid it; you might feel better in the end.
