Sleep Experts Say Don’t Hit Snooze After Wake-Up Alarm

Sleep experts recommend against snoozing after a wake-up alarm, but a study led by researchers at Mass General Brigham shows the practice is common, with more than 50% of sleep sessions logged ending in a snooze alarm and users spending 11 minutes on average snoozing. Even though using the snooze function on an alarm clock isn’t recommended by sleep experts, it’s a common practice. Using data from the sleep analysis app Sleep Cycle, researchers analyzed sleep data from more than 21,000 people around the world. The snooze button was pressed in close to 56% of the 3 million nights studied. Around 45% of study subjects hit the snooze button on more than 80% of mornings. These heavy users snoozed, on average, 20 minutes a day.  Results are published in Scientific Reports.

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Snooze alarm utilization was lower among those sleeping five or fewer hours. According to the researchers, this could be because short sleepers are cutting sleep short due to occupational responsibilities, which would require them to wake up and start their day, leaving little time for a snooze. Heavy users of the snooze alarm (those relying on snooze alarm on more than 80% of mornings studied) spent on average 20 minutes in between snooze alarms. Heavy snooze alarm users also demonstrated more erratic sleep schedules than other categories of users. People in the U.S., Sweden and Germany had the highest snooze button use, while those living in Japan and Australia had the lowest.

lead author Rebecca Robbins, PhD, in the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system says “Unfortunately, the snooze alarm disrupts some of the most important stages of sleep, The hours just before waking are rich in rapid eye movement sleep. Hitting the snooze alarm will interrupt these critical stages of sleep and typically only offer you light sleep in between snooze alarms. The best approach for optimizing your sleep and next day performance is to set your alarm for the latest possible time, then commit to getting out of bed when your first alarm goes off.”

Source: Mass General Brigham