Here’s why you feel awful after going back to bed for that extra hour of sleep
New research reveals snoozing your alarm might do more harm than good
- Hitting the snooze button and going back to sleep could leave you groggy and agitated since you’ve disrupted your 90-minute sleep cycle, according to Dr. Greg Mahr, a psychiatrist at Henry Ford Health.
- New research found over 50 per cent of three million sleep sessions studied ended in a "snooze," with heavy snoozers averaging 20 minutes a day, disrupting crucial stages of sleep, particularly REM sleep, says Dr. Rebecca Robbins, a sleep scientist at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
- Setting multiple alarms is also a red flag, potentially indicating an undiagnosed sleep disorder, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine Dr. Rachel Salas.
- Taking a nap before 3pm for less than an hour (ideally 20-30 minutes) can help compensate for sleep debt without affecting the circadian rhythm, Salas suggests.
- To optimise sleep and next-day performance, Robbins advises setting the alarm for the latest possible time and getting out of bed on the first alarm.