Every morning, it's almost the same routine for many. You are rudely awakened from your sleep by the shrill noise of your alarm clock. You've barely opened your eyes, and now you're faced with a stark choice, jump out of bed like one of the 'efficient' people, or give yourself a few extra minutes of delightful sleep by setting your alarm clock to snooze. One of these decisions could bring you love, happiness and social success, the other could have a negative impact on your health.
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Increased stress
If you're one of those people who snooze your alarm clock then you're not alone. A study at the end of August looked at the waking habits of 450 Americans and found that 57% of participants used this tempting feature. After all, what's the harm in giving yourself a few extra minutes of respite, as long as you leave on time?
The snooze button is bad for your health pic.twitter.com/dRs5eWP0Z8
— Ali Abdaal (@AliAbdaal) August 15, 2021
According to the researchers, snoozing is not harmless. Ideally, a complete sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes and is divided into several phases (light, deep REM, etc). However, falling back asleep just after being woken up would start a new cycle, which would then be interrupted 5 to 10 minutes later.
With each unnatural awakening, the body secretes cortisol, the stress hormone, to boost itself. With each new alarm, the body secretes more cortisol, which increases the individual's stress level. The result is an increase in heart rate and blood pressure.
Avoid using the Snooze function
Knowing that the snooze function is not recommended, what should you do when you wake up? Many people give themselves a bit of leeway in the morning, by setting the alarm clock to ring 15 minutes before the scheduled time (7.30 am for example).
No choice, you will have to abandon this function and get out of bed as soon as you hear the alarm, even if it means setting your alarm clock for 7.15 am, for example. You won't have any margin, but technically you'll sleep as long as before!
This article was translated from Gentside FR.
Sources used:
-Sleep: Snoozing: an examination of a common method of waking
-Notre Dame News: Hitting the snooze button? You’re far from alone, study shows
-Headspace: How to stop snoozing
