Hitting Snooze May Help You Feel Less Sleepy and More Alert, Research Says

Could Hitting the Snooze Button Help You Feel More Rested?

You snooze, you lose — right? According to new research, maybe not. Conventional wisdom says that hitting the snooze button isn’t good for you. You might have heard something about it messing with your deep sleep patterns. Perhaps you’ve been scolded at some point by a disapproving early riser for hitting that button too many times.

No matter the scenario, there’s a sense that the snooze button is bad. You should wake up. Sure, humans are creatures of habit; keeping our wake and sleep times consistent seems like fair advice, especially if you’re tired or groggy in the morning.

But it turns out that hitting the snooze button may not disrupt your sleep cycle after all. New research published in the Journal of Sleep Research indicates that hitting the snooze button — even a few times — probably isn’t as bad for your sleep as you might think.

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The Research

For the study, researchers interviewed more than 1,700 individuals about their sleep and waking habits. More than two-thirds of respondents (69%), reported using the snooze button or setting multiple alarms “sometimes.” The most common reason for snoozing was feeling too tired or unable to wake up with the first alarm.

A significant portion (17.4%) said they did it just because it “feels good,” and a similar number (16.6%) noted that they wanted to “wake up more slowly.”

The second part of the research was a sleep study that involved 31 “habitual snoozers” who spent three nights sleeping in a lab. The average age of participants was about 27. Age is important for sleep studies because younger people tend to have later chronotypes, meaning they tend to rise and go to bed later than older people.

“Younger individuals are more likely to be evening people. This would, in turn, affect how tired they are in the morning and the extent to which they feel the need to snooze,” said Tina Sundelin, lead researcher and associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Stockholm University in Sweden.

The sleep study also only recruited healthy sleepers. It controlled for some sleep issues by disqualifying individuals who already had poor sleep quality, had difficulty sleeping in places other than their own bed, or were heavy snorers.

The participants underwent two rounds of trials in which, upon waking, they were asked to solve math problems and other simple cognitive tests like word memorization. On one day, the participants were instructed to use their snooze button three times for the final thirty minutes of sleep time. On the second day, they were instructed to simply sleep the full amount of time and wake with their alarm.

The researchers also measured cortisol in the participants’ saliva after waking. Cortisol is a hormone that, among other things, plays an important role in waking, specifically the cortisol awakening response during which cortisol spikes 15-45 minutes after waking.

Higher levels of cortisol correlate with feeling awake and alert, whereas low cortisol levels mean feeling sleepy.

The Results

Researchers didn’t observe any significant associations between cortisol levels and snoozing. Snoozers did have slightly higher cortisol levels upon waking, but the difference disappeared 40 minutes after waking.

On the day when participants got to snooze, they performed better on the cognitive tests, but got slightly less sleep.

“After snoozing participants were slightly better at a speed-math test and a memory test,” said Sundelin. “The significance of these findings is that snoozing does not seem to be as bad as previously believed, but that there might be a tradeoff, where a bit of disturbed sleep in the morning may help you ward off some sleep inertia.”

But, surprisingly, despite performing better on some cognitive tests, snoozers didn’t actually feel less sleepy — the number one reason for snoozing in the first place.

“Potentially, these individuals will always feel sleepy upon waking, regardless of waking style,” concludes the research. “Even though participants did not report feeling less sleepy…the slower awakening still improved their cognitive abilities.”

Conclusion

All of this to say: people who like to snooze, might just be better off hitting that snooze button after all, and it doesn’t appear to have deleterious effects on sleep quality.

“Try to find a good balance between your sleep duration and your snooze time. As long as you’re getting sufficient sleep beforehand, you’re probably OK to snooze for 20-30 minutes if you enjoy it,” said Sundelin.

Benjamin however cautions that these conclusions should only be drawn for healthy sleepers. If a person feels sleepy every morning and uses snooze as a crutch but is still sleepy all day, they should speak to their physician to be assessed for a primary sleep disorder.

FAQs

Q: Is hitting the snooze button bad for my sleep?
A: No, according to new research, hitting the snooze button may not disrupt your sleep cycle after all.

Q: Why do people snooze in the morning?
A: The most common reason for snoozing is feeling too tired or unable to wake up with the first alarm.

Q: Is snoozing beneficial for some sleepers?
A: Yes, the research suggests that snoozing in the morning is just fine, even beneficial for some sleepers. It wasn’t associated with a significant loss in sleep time or worsened sleep quality.

Q: Is this research limited to healthy sleepers?
A: Yes, the study only recruited healthy sleepers. People with sleep disorders or daily fatigue should still speak to their doctor.

Q: Can I still snooze if I’m not getting enough sleep?
A: No, if you’re not getting enough sleep, you should focus on improving your sleep quality rather than relying on snoozing.