Should you snooze your alarm?

We’re all guilty of risking a late start for a few extra minutes of sleep, but are they doing more harm than good?

Sometimes the urge to snooze your alarm is too much to resist. This is particularly true as the weather gets colder and the mornings get darker, when getting out of bed feels more difficult than ever.

It may seem harmless to enjoy a few more minutes rest, but on top of the risk of running late for work or school, snoozing your alarm could be impacting your sleep hygiene. And not in a good way.

We’re going to take a closer look at why we snooze and why it’s bad for you, as well as exploring some of the ways you can successfully kick the habit.

Why do we snooze?

Logically, we know we need to wake up and get on with the day ahead. But it isn’t our logical and alert brain that typically makes the decision to snooze. Instead, we let our sleepy and impaired brain take the wheel, and this is due to something called sleep inertia.

Characterised by grogginess upon waking, sleep inertia is a temporary state that falls somewhere between being awake and being asleep. It results in slower thinking speed and reasoning, causing us to act more on impulse than logic.

This, combined with the warmth of your bed and the coldness of the space outside it, makes snoozing hard to resist.

Here’s why you shouldn’t snooze your alarm

You may feel like you’re getting more rest by snoozing, but this fragmented sleep isn’t actually providing you with any benefits. The 10 more minutes of sleep you’re granting yourself over and over again isn’t productive sleep.

In fact, sleep experts reckon that, if anything, this interrupted sleep only serves to make you feel more groggy.

Hitting the snooze button repeatedly can impact your sleep cycle, throwing off your internal body clock. You don’t have time to enjoy a full cycle of sleep, so you’re only increasing the chances of being woken up during deeper sleep and feeling worse as a result.

When we snooze, our sleep inertia becomes more intense. You may find yourself feeling fatigued when you’d normally feel energized, and snoozing for long periods can impact everything from your energy levels to your metabolism.

Not to mention, repeatedly delaying your alarm can also impact the sleep quality of those sharing your bed, room or house.

How to stop snoozing

If you’re a serial snoozer, there are simple steps you can take to remedy this and kick the habit for good.

For starters, take steps to improve your sleep hygiene overall. This includes going to bed at around the same time every night and waking up at around the same time every morning. You should aim to get seven to nine hours of sleep per night, limiting afternoon naps, caffeine intake and alcohol. Exercising regularly and keeping your bedroom cool and dark can also help to promote better sleep.

You should also set your alarm for a realistic time, instead of setting it very early and spending an early snatching more sleep for 10 minutes at a time. When your first alarm goes off, sit up and switch on a light to help you feel more awake.

If you’re still having trouble avoiding the temptation to snooze, try moving your alarm clock to the other side of the room. That way, you physically have to get out of bed in order to switch it off, forcing you to start your day.

The best sleep happens on a high quality mattress, so check out the Perks range today. You can also explore the rest of our blog for more sleep news and tips.