It’s very tempting to turn off your alarm early in the morning and roll over for a while. But snoozing, as it’s also called, can actually make sure you wake up more tired.
In fact, a study by Stephen Mattingly of the University of Notre Dame found that people who use alarm clocks are more tired than those who wake up naturally, even if they aren’t asleep. The results of the study, conducted on 450 American adults, were published in the scientific journal Sleep.
One conclusion of the study is that 57% of working adults regularly hit the snooze button in the morning. That button is not only pressed by people who use an alarm clock on their smartphone, but it is also used on the “old-fashioned” alarm clock. It is also striking that women are 50% more likely to snooze in the morning than men.
Night owls turn out to be fans of the snooze button; they experience the most fatigue in the morning. People who woke up naturally felt less tired during the day and needed fewer naps.
According to Mattingly, waking up causes our bodies to experience a certain stress response that makes us feel more alert. Using an alarm would bypass that natural stress response. And this, according to Mattingly, is not good for breaking the sleep cycle. In other words: an alarm clock can ensure that we stay tired.
Well, preferably don’t use an alarm clock. But how do you make sure you’re on time for work, school, or other appointments in the morning? You can train yourself to wake up without an alarm by using a fixed sleep pattern. Go to bed at regular times for a while and get up at the same times. At some point you will find yourself waking up at a certain time, because your body is used to it. Also try to let as much daylight into the bedroom as possible in the morning.
