⛔⏰Winter mornings make the snooze button tempting- Experts warn against

Dark, cold mornings making you press snooze? Bad news – you could end up with serious sleep problems

When looking at the main reasons people are pressing snooze this Winter, Happy Beds explain that there are many factors that come into play. The lack of natural light in the morning means our circadian rhythms are slightly out of sync, as typically, our bodies respond to waking with daylight. The temptation to hit snooze on a cold, dark morning makes getting out of bed very challenging. And, reaching for the snooze button can confuse your circadian rhythm even further. This means your body won’t know when it is time to wake and go to sleep, as the snooze button encourages you to go back into deep sleep.

Holiday fatigue in the lead-up to Christmas can also affect our morning energy levels. All of the festive celebrations can alter sleep patterns with late nights and, coupled with indulgent meals and festive drinks, this disruption can contribute to the temptation of hitting the snooze button. However, hitting snooze repeatedly can lead to many worrying problems such as chronic tiredness, insomnia, and sleep inertia.

When looking further into this, Happy Beds’ survey discovered that the main reason people are hitting snooze is that 66% of people don’t get the amount of sleep they need, and are pressing snooze to try and squeeze more shut eye in each morning. While hitting snooze may seem like a way to get extra sleep and feel less tired, those who regularly snooze may end up even more tired than those who wake up naturally. This can unfortunately lead to chronic tiredness and sleep inertia.

Sleep inertia is the groggy, tired feeling you get and can’t shake for a few hours after waking. This is what happens with repeatedly pressing the snooze button, as it can result in your body assuming the first chimes were a false alarm, leaving it in a state of shock when the alarm then frequently goes off.

So, here are the experts at Happy Beds’ top 7 tips that can help you stop reaching for the snooze button to make sure you don’t feel constantly tired each day this winter.

Sleep experts share 7 tips to help break your reliance on the snooze button this festive season

The importance of breaking the snooze habit for better sleep quality is imperative over the festive season to

1. Stop setting multiple alarms

You may be tempted to do this, especially if you have to wake up extremely early (for a flight or work). But, doing this can encourage you to opt for the snooze button as you subconsciously know that another alarm is set to wake you.

2. Choose a more melodic alarm tone

If your alarm tone is one that brings feelings of stress and irritation, change it. Studies have shown that participants preferred alarms with melodic qualities when waking up.

3. Make it hard to snooze

If your alarm is hard to reach, it’s harder to snooze. Move your alarm to the other side of your room, where you must get out of the bed to turn it off. That way, you are already out of bed, so getting on with your day is much easier.

4. Put your foot out of the bed

If you are struggling to wake up and the alarm has gone off, remove your foot under the blanket and put it on the floor. The immediate temperature change can help wake you and tell your brain it is time to get up.

5. Switch the light on

Light is the enemy of sleep. If you are struggling to wake up, you need light. Switch the lights on when the alarm goes off so your brain knows it is time to wake up and prepare for the day.

6.  Use your favourite scent to get you up

Fans of The US Office will remember the episode where Michael Scott stepped on his George Foreman grill when getting out of bed, as he liked to wake to the smell of cooked bacon. While we do not encourage you to put a grill next to your bed, you could use other scents to help you rise.

Some coffee makers allow you to program it so you can wake up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee.

7. Be realistic with your alarm

You are more likely to snooze if your alarm is set too early or unrealistic. Instead, be realistic with when you want to (and need to) wake up to resist the urge to snooze. If you can’t change the time of your alarm, stop the snooze as a test for a few days.

Please feel free to share this story with your readers and if you require any further information such as unique expert commentary, don’t hesitate to get in touch – I’m always happy to help.

Credit:  Happy Beds : https://www.happybeds.co.uk/blog/more-than-half-of-people-who-use-an-alarm-press-the-snooze-button-every-morning