The snooze button was first invented in 1956 and people have been abusing it ever since. We may think by pressing snooze we are getting more sleep and will be more rested, however 10 minutes of snooze is not enough time for our bodies to complete a sleep cycle.
Depending on where we are in a sleep cycle, an alarm may be waking us up from a deep sleep. Even if we press snooze and go back to sleep, we will not be going back to that deep sleep phase, so we are not going to feel anymore rested after 10 minutes. In fact, we can feel more rested even with less sleep, but by waking up in the light sleep phase.
How to stop the Snooze
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Have a reason to wake up earlier: Do you want to work out in the morning to get it out of the way, get into work earlier or just feel less rushed? Remembering why you want to get up earlier will keep you motivated to do so.
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Move your alarm: Keeping your alarm out of arms reach will force you to get out of bed to turn it off. Try putting it on a dresser across the room or in the bathroom.
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Set your alarm to your favorite song: Let’s face it, the sound of buzzing is irritating, and we just want it to stop. Change your alarm sound to your favorite song to get you hyped and ready for the day.
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There’s an app for that: There are lots of apps to help you wake up in the morning. Some monitor your phases of sleep and will wake you up when you are in a light stage of sleep. Other apps force you to do a math problem for the alarm to turn off, and others use your phones flashlight to simulate sunlight to help you wake up naturally.
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Early to bed, early to rise: try going to bed earlier. Even if it’s just 15 minutes earlier each week until you find the right time that works for you.
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