Why shouldn't we use the snooze function on our alarm clock?

We all know the feeling of not wanting to get out of bed first thing in the morning. It can be tempting to press the "snooze" button on your alarm clock to grab a few extra minutes of sleep. And research has shown that it’s a very common habit. In October 2022, results from a University of Notre Dame study on the subject were published in Sleep journal.

The study found that 57% of people snooze, with certain groups of people being more likely to do so than others. For example, the younger a study participant was, the more likely they were to snooze. Women were also more commonly snoozers than men. The thing is, neuroscientists say that snoozing isn’t actually the bright idea that it might seem. While the temporary respite is pleasant at the time, there are other health-related reasons for not snoozing.

Why is that then? Does going back to sleep restart the sleep cycle? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

First broadcast: 25/11/2023

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