Admit it; it is so tempting to do it once (or twice or even three times) every morning.
Hit the snooze button that is.
And seriously, trying to restrain ourselves from doing so when the alarm goes off that first time is getting harder and harder as the mornings are getting darker and colder by the minute.
Obviously; we all know it is not the most responsible course of action – and there is no doubt that we add more stress to an already hectic morning routine by doing so, but sometimes you are literally willing to do anything for an extra few minutes under the covers.
But the thing is, mamas, hitting the snooze button not only means you might have to cut your hair styling a little short or inhale a muesli bar in the car as opposed to sitting down for an actual breakfast.
No, getting into the habit of pressing snooze every time your alarm goes off can actually mess with your brain too. Have you ever noticed you feel more tired on the days you allow yourself those few extra minutes of shuteye? Are you finding it increasingly difficult to get up in the morning, no matter what time you set your alarm? Sorry to tell you this, but it could be your dependency on the snooze button that’s screwing up your morning. Yes; really.
In fact, New York Magazine’s “Science of Us” recently examined this phenomenon, and it turns out hitting the snooze button once, twice, or more, to rack up quick intervals of addition sleep—is making it more difficult for our bodies to wake up and function in the morning. Behavior scientist Dan Ariely wrote in The Wall Street Journal that hitting snooze ruins the conditioning effect the alarm clock is supposed to have on your body.
Overall, our smart bodies perform best when there is a single clear rule and thus the alarm clock is intended to engage with us much like the buzzer and Pavlov’s dog. When the alarm goes off, we jump out of bed and begin our day. “When we play with the snooze button,” writes Ariely, “our bodies get a confused message.”
So what is really the best way to wake yourself up in the morning? Try setting your alarm for the time you need to wake up, not 10, 20, or more minutes before just so you can keep hitting snooze. And once your alarm goes off, get up and out of bed – the first time.
According to the experts, the five or ten minutes of extra sleep you squeeze in doesn’t even benefit you in the short or long-term. The reason for this is that these short bursts of sleep are not enough for the restorative sleep necessary to leave you refreshed, and you’re just cutting into your time and throwing yourself off for future mornings.
Now, who are ready to ditch the snooze button now?
