There are two main ways to face the morning: the prompt rise and the extended snooze.
The prompt rise, as the name suggests, involves a near-instant shutting-off of the morning alarm and a swift exit from bed to face the day. The extended snooze, by contrast, means hitting the button on a phone or clock, or issuing the requisite command to a hands-free speaker, and enjoying another 5-10 minutes of delicious sleep. And then another. And then another. And so on.
If you fall into the extended snooze category, chances are you’ve faced some judgment for your morning habit from the prompt risers in your life; the implication that you’re lazy, perhaps, or that you’re practising poor sleep hygiene.
A new study published in The Journal of Sleep Research may be about to change all that.
Swedish scientists studied 31 self-confessed snoozers in a sleep lab. On one morning, the subjects were allowed to snooze at will; on the next, they had to get straight up. And guess what?
The researchers found that snoozing either improved performance in difficult cognitive tasks or had no negative effect, compared to the non-snooze day. There was no increase in stress hormones or morning sleepiness. And snoozing didn’t make any impact on the subjects’ mood.
“The findings indicate that there is no reason to stop snoozing in the morning if you enjoy it, at least not for snooze times around 30 minutes. In fact, it may even help those with morning drowsiness to be slightly more awake once they get up.”
Corresponding author Tina Sundelin, PhD, of Stockholm University
As part of the study, scientists also surveyed 1,732 people about their sleeping habits – and found that 69% regularly hit snooze.
Let’s be honest: it’s not a definitive win for Team Snooze. After all, the sleep lab study only had 31 participants, and they were already in the snooze habit.
Nevertheless, if you are a snoozer, you can still take heart from this new research, knowing that when you snooze, you don’t (necessarily) lose.
However you choose to get up, explore our guide to setting the right morning routine for you.
Find a club
