Why you should ditch the snooze button

You’re getting ready for bed on a work night and double-check your alarms: 6:00 a.m., 6:20 a.m., 6:40 a.m., 7:00 a.m. and finally 7:10 a.m. Or maybe your alarm goes off at 6:30 a.m. and you hit snooze and fall back asleep for 9 minutes increments until you have to get up an hour later.

While these are common sleep habits, Dr. Yelena Tumashova, a sleep medicine physician at Advocate Health Care, encourages you to cut them from your morning routine.

“You drift in and out of rapid eye moment (REM) during the last few hours of sleep,” she explains. “Waking up multiple times while in this stage can negatively impact overall sleep quality, leaving you feeling groggy in the morning.”

REM is crucial for maintaining cognitive functions, such as memory, learning and creativity. Fragmenting this stage could impair those functions and possibly interfere with your ability to do daily tasks at work or home.

“Those extra few minutes of sleep may feel good in the moment, but it doesn’t help in the long run. It’s best to sleep through that essential stage and get up with your first alarm,” Dr. Tumashova adds.

However, if you have a hard time getting up in the morning, giving up the snooze button can be difficult.

According to Dr. Tumashova, struggling to wake up may be a sign of an underlying condition, such as:

• Sleep apnea, a disorder in which breathing stops and starts while asleep
• Sleep inertia, a temporary disorientation and decline in performance or mood after waking
• Sleep deprivation, a severe lack of sleep or quality sleep
• Insomnia, a persistent problem of falling or staying asleep

“Generally, most people struggle to get up because they aren’t getting the amount of sleep they really need,” Dr. Tumashova says. “To remedy that, try making some adjustments to your sleep habits.”

The following habits promote better sleep and ease waking up:

• Try a sunrise alarm clock.
• Place your alarm away from your bed so you must get up to turn it off.
• Keep the same sleep schedule during the week and on the weekends.
• Get 15-30 minutes of sunlight in the morning to signal to your body it’s time to wake up.
• Disable the snooze feature if using a smart device as an alarm.
• Sleep in a dark, cool room.
• Avoid blue-light emitting screens at least one hour before bed.

If sleep troubles affect your day-to-day life, be sure to discuss it with your doctor.

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