Health
1News

Is it bad to hit snooze on your morning alarm?

October 19, 2023

According to new research, 70% of people hit the snooze button. (Source: Breakfast)

Around 70% of people hit the snooze button on their morning alarm, new research from Stockholm University has revealed.

The study said while waking up in the morning then falling back into a light sleep (snoozing) shortens the duration of deep sleep, it doesn't have any alarming affects.

"Although snoozing only had small effects on the whole-night sleep, it still resulted in slightly increased sleepiness and having to use more effort later in the day, effects that may accumulate over time."

But speaking to Breakfast this morning, sleep doctor Alex Bartle said while most of us do it, hitting snooze isn't necessarily the best idea.

"If you do it over a number of weeks or months, hitting the snooze button before you need to get up, you're losing a lot of sleep.

"People hit the snooze button and think 'oh great I've got another half hour of sleep' but why have you just woken yourself up when you're just going back to sleep again."

He said setting the snooze button 5-10 minutes before you need to wake up makes sense but there's no point doing it any earlier.

"The reality is, if you have to get up, you get up, if you don't have to get up, why have you just woken yourself up, it just doesn't make sense to me."

"Why are you waking yourself up early that's really my question."

Bartle also added that if you repeatedly have less than six hours of sleep per night that can be "very bad for you".

He said if people aren't getting a full night's sleep, it can be a good idea to catch up during the day.

"It still adds to your 24 hour amount of sleep, so if you get an hour and a half or so in the afternoon or before you go to work, that works too."

He said people who do shift work don't often get a full nights sleep, so they should catch up on sleep during their days off.

"But in the long run, it's not ideal."

Bartle added that you shouldn't go to sleep until you actually feel tired. He said a lot of people go to bed early but don't end up falling asleep for hours.

"The more you try to go to sleep, the worse it is, so if you go to bed later you're more likely to fall asleep quicker, then you can start to move it forward a bit and go to bed earlier."

SHARE ME

More Stories