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Psychologist warns morning habit ‘everybody does’ often leaves you craving more sleep
Alarms are the worst. Especially in winter with cold mornings; all you want to do is cuddle up in your blanket for a few minutes of extra sleep. But psychologist warns against one popular practice most of us indulge in as soon as the alarm goes off.
Not to forget, we are yet to get through the good half of January, and there are several more weeks until the chilly weather warms up. As tempting as it is to snooze the morning alarm once or repeatedly to buy time for a quick nap, doing so will only make us want to sleep throughout the day, according to one study.
Snoozing morning alarm repeatedly leaves you craving more rest
According to sleep psychologist Dr. Katherine Hall at Happy Beds, snoozing your morning alarm repeatedly can lead to “chronic tiredness, trouble sleeping, and that groggy feeling, known as sleep inertia.”
As the human body is created to typically respond to the natural daylight, waking up to alarm disrupts our circadian rhythms. To put it in Leyman’s terms, it is the physical, mental, and behavioral changes living organisms experience over a 24-hour cycle.
So repeated snoozing will confuse your circadian rhythm furthermore as the body struggles to recognize the exact period of sleep and being awake.
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“Reaching for the�snooze�button can further�confuse your circadian rhythm, leaving your body uncertain about when it is time to wake and go to sleep, as it encourages a return to deep sleep,” Dr. Katherine explains.
Despite the negative impact of the morning alarm habit, a survey shows a large majority of us do it anyway. A study conducted by Happy Bes showed that 57% of the people from the sample used for research reached for the snooze button every morning, with 1 in 4 pressing it three and four times daily. And 1 in 9 snoozed their alarm repeatedly.
How to wake up without relying on the snooze button
People who wake up naturally without an alarm tend to feel less tired throughout the day. But we understand it’s hard to not rely on alarm, that too if you’re a deep sleeper. So here are a couple of tips offered by Happy Beds to avoid snoozing and waking up to the sound of the alarm alone.
- Do not set multiple alarms in an attempt to avoid snoozing.
- Pick an alarm tone that’s relaxing to ease your morning stress.
- Place your alarm farther than arm’s length so you don’t resort to snoozing it. Across the room would be the best advice.
- Wake up as soon as you hear the alarm and put your foot outside the bed for an instant temperature change.
- Signal your brain to wake up naturally by letting sunlight into the room and opening the blinds.
- Try the no-snooze approach for a few days to slowly get rid of the habit.
