Stockholm Universitys study exposes that the snooze button might not be as harmful as commonly thought. While snoozers may sleep slightly less, they do not suffer negative results on sleep quality or cognitive functions upon waking.
It is often declared that utilizing the snooze button can have negative results on sleep and cognitive procedures, but there has been no direct evidence of this effect. New research from the Department of Psychology at Stockholm University shows that snoozing might in fact support the waking process for regular snoozers.
The Science of Hitting the Snooze Button
Its typical to desire to remain in bed, potentially even return to sleep, when the alarm goes off in the morning. The snooze button has been a function in alarm clocks and mobile phone for decades and is typically claimed to have negative results, both on sleep and the brains ability to wake up. There has actually been no scientific research to support these claims. Researchers from Stockholm University have now investigated how common snoozing is and what results this habits has on sleep, drowsiness, mood, and cognitive abilities.
” Our findings reveal that those who snooze typically sleep somewhat shorter and feel more drowsy in the morning compared to those who never snooze. However there were no unfavorable effects of snoozing on cortisol release, morning tiredness, mood, or sleep quality throughout the night,” states Tina Sundelin, researcher at Stockholm University and lead author of the paper.
Tina Sundelins research study at Stockholm University shows that snoozing may support the waking procedure for routine snoozers. Credit: Henrik Dunér
Survey Insights and Sleep Lab Findings
In the very first research study, 1732 individuals responded to questions about their early morning routines, consisting of how frequently they use the snooze button. The most typical factor for snoozing is feeling too tired to get out of bed when the alarm goes off.
In the 2nd research study, 31 regular snoozers spent 2 nights in a sleep laboratory in order to measure their sleep in more information. When the alarm went off, one of the mornings they were permitted to snooze for 30 minutes and the other they had to get up right. The results are calming for those who snooze. Although participants sleep was disturbed throughout the half hour of snoozing, the majority of them still got quite a great deal of it– more than 20 minutes. This implies that their overall nights sleep was hardly impacted. In the snooze condition no one had to wake up from deep sleep, and the snoozers carried out a bit much better on cognitive tests right upon waking. On the other hand, there were no clear effects of snoozing on state of mind, drowsiness, or the amount of cortisol in the saliva.
Concluding Remarks
-” Our research study shows that half an hour of snoozing does not have negative impacts on night sleep or sleep inertia, the feeling of not quite being alert in the morning. If anything, we saw some positive results, such as a reduced possibility of waking from deep sleep. When individuals were allowed to snooze they were likewise a bit more quick-thinking right when they got up.
” Its naturally essential to bear in mind that the research study just consisted of people who are routine snoozers and discover it easy to go back to sleep after each alarm. Snoozing is most likely not for everybody,” states Tina Sundelin.
Reference: “Is snoozing losing? Why periodic morning alarms are utilized and how they impact sleep, cortisol, state of mind, and cognition” by Tina Sundelin, Shane Landry and John Axelsson, 17 October 2023, Journal of Sleep Research.DOI: 10.1111/ jsr.14054.
The snooze button has actually been a function in alarm clocks and cell phones for decades and is often declared to have negative effects, both on sleep and the brains ability to wake up. Scientists from Stockholm University have actually now examined how typical snoozing is and what results this habits has on sleep, drowsiness, mood, and cognitive capabilities.
Even though participants sleep was disturbed throughout the half hour of snoozing, most of them still got quite a lot of it– more than 20 minutes. In the snooze condition no one had to wake up from deep sleep, and the snoozers performed a bit better on cognitive tests right upon waking.-” Our research study reveals that half an hour of snoozing does not have unfavorable impacts on night sleep or sleep inertia, the feeling of not rather being alert in the early morning.
