When you snooze you lose

Are you someone who easily gets out of bed after the alarm has gone off? Or are you the one who hits the snooze button often. Looking at myself, I have hit the snooze button for years assuming those extra minutes would give me a little more sleep and make me feel more rested. Unfortunately, the opposite was true.

While I was preparing for this post, I came across an article from the Quest from 2019. Research has shown that Dutch people like to snooze and cannot resist the temptation to enjoy their bed for a few extra minutes. Two-thirds of the participants snooze almost every day and more than a third hit the snooze button two or three times. Another interesting finding is that women snooze more often and for longer than men and that within the group of women, young women snooze the most. Do you recognize yourself in this? ;)

Why do we actually snooze?

Snoozing can feel tempting due to sleep inertia, also known as sleepiness. Sleep inertia is a dizzy feeling that you can sometimes feel right after waking up. During sleep inertia, you are still not fully alert and want to go back to sleep instead of getting out of bed and starting your day.

Sleep inertia is a normal feeling we all experience as we transition from sleep to being fully awake. People tend to experience more intense sleep inertia when they are sleep deprived. If you sleep less than seven hours a night, your tendency to snooze may be due to insufficient sleep. Difficulty waking up is also more common in people with certain sleep disorders, mood disorders, and jobs that require them to wake up at unusual times.

Is snoozing bad?

When it comes to staying in bed for a few extra minutes, snoozing isn't necessarily a bad thing. As long as you don't fall asleep again. Recent British research has shown that snoozing increases the risk of stress and depression. Snoozing is a constant shock to your brain. This way you fall asleep slowly and wake up with a shock, and that every time again. People who snooze want to get some extra sleep but because of the constant waking up after a few minutes, they do not sleep well. This not only causes fatigue but also a greater risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Tips to help you stop snoozing

🛏 Go to bed earlier. You will feel more fit and more rested.

💤 Keep a regular sleep schedule: try to go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time every morning.

🔅 Get sufficient (day) light. Open the curtains or turn on your night light. Exposure to light suppresses melatonin, the hormone that plays an important role in our body's sleep and wake rhythm. As a result, you may feel more alert and awake when light enters your room when you first wake up.

⏰ Set your alarm as late as possible. This way you will sleep uninterrupted for longer and you simply won't have time to snooze.

Sources: @thesleepdoctor @drmattwalker @quest @somnoclinic