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Regular Snoozers Appear to Benefit From Putting Off Morning Rise
Hitting the snooze button for 30 minutes in the morning slightly improved or did not affect cognitive performance upon waking in habitual snoozers, according to research published in the Journal of Sleep Research.
“Although one could argue that the snooze period would be better spent sleeping, considering the detrimental effects of reduced and fragmented sleep, snoozing appears to serve a function for those who engage in this behavior...” wrote corresponding author Tina Sundelin, PhD, Stockholm University and the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, and coauthors. “These individuals may need more time to ward off the effects of sleep inertia, and snoozing may be a potential way of doing this.”
The finding stems from a pair of studies designed to determine predictors of snoozing and its effects.
In the first, 1732 people of different ages and walks of life responded to an online questionnaire about their sleep and waking habits. Results confirmed that snoozing was widespread, researchers reported. Hitting the snooze button was especially common among younger adults and those who considered themselves evening people. Feeling too tired to get up was the most common reason for snoozing.
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The second investigation was a within-subject study of 31 regular snoozers that took place in a sleep lab. Participants were allowed to snooze for 30 minutes on one morning but had to rise abruptly when the alarm went off another morning.
According to the study, participants felt equally sleepy on both mornings. However, they performed better on three of four cognitive tests upon rising on the morning they snoozed for 30 minutes. During the snooze, they managed to get more than 20 minutes of sleep. Furthermore, snoozing prevented all participants from having to awake abruptly from deep sleep.
Researchers identified no clear effects of snoozing on mood, sleepiness, or cortisol in saliva.
“Our study shows that half an hour of snoozing does not have negative effects on night sleep or sleep inertia, the feeling of not quite being alert in the morning. If anything, we saw some positive outcomes, such as a decreased likelihood of waking from deep sleep. When participants were allowed to snooze, they were also a bit more quick-thinking right when they got up,” Dr Sundelin said.
“It's of course important to remember that the study only included people who are regular snoozers and find it easy to go back to sleep after each alarm. Snoozing is most likely not for everyone.”
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