So, in those extra snooze minutes, you probably won’t be hitting Stage 3 and getting any more restful sleep. In other words, you might as well just get out of bed when the alarm goes off. As holistic psychiatrist Ellen Vora, M.D. explains, “There are better ways to get rest.” Adding that with the snooze button, “Nobody wins. You’re not getting great rest, and you’re also not having a leisurely, relaxed morning.” You are better off setting your alarm for a realistic time and creating an energizing morning routine rather than convincing yourself a few more minutes in bed is what you need. While there is no specific research on the snooze button, studies of disrupted sleep make a compelling argument for breaking up with the button. In one study1, participants who were repeated woken up four times during the night reported similar levels of fatigue as those who had gotten just four hours of sleep, even though the group that was woken up got a full eight hours of sleep. So, it probably isn’t a stretch to say repeatedly being woken up by your alarm clock, followed by a brief sleep and another alarm might actually increase tiredness. Another reason to be concerned about snoozing? It could contribute to what scientists call sleep inertia2. Sleep inertia is the feeling of grogginess you experience just after waking that can impair your ability to perform simple tasks (think shampooing your hair twice by accident). While sleep inertia usually wears off within an hour of waking, waking up during the wrong sleep cycle may make it last up to four hours. This is especially true of REM and Stage 3 sleep. So if you hit the alarm and drift back into REM sleep, you could be feeling the effects until lunchtime. While more research is needed to determine whether there really is a link between the snooze button and grogginess, personal experience points to yes. mindbodygreen’s magnesium+ was formulated to help with just that.* It combines relaxing magnesium glycinate with other sleep enhancers like jujube and pharmaGABA for a formula that helps people fall into a deeper and more restorative rest.* It has the added benefit of supporting the body’s circadian rhythm, or internal clock, leading a gentler wakeup and more energized mornings. Suddenly, the snooze button doesn’t look so appealing. Early morning yoga, anyone? McDonough has developed & lead nutrition education programming in schools. She’s covered a wide range of topics as a health & nutrition reporter from the rise in the use of psychedelics for depression to the frustrating trend in shorter doctors’ appointments and the connection between diet and disease.
