Austin Sports Medicine: The Snooze Button

It’s time for another Austin Sports Medicine 101 class!

Using the snooze button on your alarm clock more than once every morning is kind of like trying to avoid the calories in a slice of pizza by filling yourself up with the box it came in. You are actually doing more harm than good.

Your body gets better sleep when it’s uninterrupted sleep – it just makes sense. When the alarm goes off and you hit snooze, the fitful sleep between the first alarm and the next isn’t nearly as good as the sleep you would’ve gotten if you’d just slept through until it was time to get up.

It may feel like the sleep you’re getting after hitting snooze is the best sleep ever, but in reality, the relative rapid succession of waking and sleeping is not as good at recharging you for the day ahead.

So if you can help it, don’t use snooze at all. Set your alarm for the time you actually need to get up. If you must, limit your snooze use to once per morning. It won’t take long before you’re less groggy in the mornings, and you’ll feel less tired and more energized throughout the entire day.
