How many times each morning do you hit your snooze button? Did you know that instead of helping you get a few extra minutes of sleep, that snooze cycle most likely makes you feel MORE tired than you would have if you'd just gotten up at your first alarm? It's true!
Sleep Inertia
There's a state called "sleep inertia," which is that groggy period immediately after you wake up. You're not very alert, and pretty much all your mental capacities are slower than usual – remembering, learning, reacting, reasoning. It's also why you might be grumpy upon waking.
When you get out of bed, or even just lay in bed awake for a bit, you gradually come out of that sleep inertia stage, become more alert, and go on with your day.
However, when you hit snooze, instead of waking up and getting through the sleep inertia, your body goes back and forth between sort of asleep and sort of awake. It is essentially in limbo between sleeping and waking. The more times you hit snooze, the more profound the effect.
It takes 10-20 minutes to truly fall asleep (any less could be a sign of sleep deprivation), and it takes 15-60 minutes to fully come out of sleep inertia. So that nine minute snooze function? It keeps you in a state of not really sleeping and not really waking. In other words, you don't gain anything – except prolonged grogginess.
What's the Solution?
The simple answer is to just get out of bed the first time the alarm goes off – no snoozing.
Achieving this might be a big more complicated, depending on why you're hitting your snooze button so much.
Set Realistic Alarms
The first step is deciding on a realistic time to get up. Generally, people set their initial alarms for the time they want to (or feel like they should) get up. It's an ideal rather than a necessity.
While there's nothing wrong with wanting to get up early and get something done before your day begins, it needs to be something you truly commit to.
Setting the alarm early to get up and work out before work is a great goal – but only if you actually do it. If, instead of your 30-minute workout, you hit snooze three times, you're not only missing your workout but continuing your sleep inertia for 30 minutes. You are better off staying in a sound sleep those extra 30 minutes.
Changing this might require a new mindset and being honest with yourself. Will you really wake up at 5:30 to work out? If the answer is no, skip it and sleep.
Or get yourself there gradually by setting your alarm for five minutes earlier each week and giving your body time to adjust.
It can also help to set your alarm across the room instead of right next to your bed. That way, you have to physically get up to shut it off.
Plan for More Sleep
The other obvious answer to nixing the snooze button is to go to sleep earlier. Getting in the full amount of sleep you need each night will make it much easier to get up with your alarm.
Again, in the real world, this might not be so simple, but you can also work at it gradually, moving up your bedtime by 10-15 minutes each week until you get it where it should be.
Keep in mind that sleep is an essential foundation of your overall health and should be given the attention it deserves. Once you do, you will reap the rewards of being well-rested and more alert in the mornings!
If you have trouble falling asleep at night, I have a 10 Days to Sound Sleep guide in my Facebook group. I encourage you to check it out!
0 Comments