Alternatives to the Snooze button

Snooze button – blessing or curse?

Bed never feels as warm, cozy and comfy as when we have to leave it in the morning. While some, few get out of bed fresh and alert at the first ring of the alarm clock, most have only one thought early in the morning, “Just 5 more minutes…” – and the snooze button is already activated. Often 5 minutes turn into 10, 15 and 20 minutes, because it rarely remains with a single press of the snooze button, until we either finally decide to get up or our annoyed bed neighbor pushes us off the edge of the bed. Sometimes it’s problems falling asleep that make you hit the snooze button over and over again in the morning. Others plan the time they use to snooze firmly into their morning ritual in order to wake up more relaxed and start the day refreshed. But what is behind the claim that the snooze button is unhealthy, what are the real reasons why we press the snooze button and what alternatives to the Snooze button are there for a relaxed, slow wake-up? We explain!

How long do we snooze and why?

NINE MINUTES OF EXTRA SLEEP

On both Apple and Android, the Snooze feature defaults to nine minutes. While you can manually adjust the length of the snooze button on Android devices, this is already more difficult on Apple and is only possible via an additional alarm clock app. But what is the reason for the nine mysterious minutes? The explanation is simple – the snooze button was first attached to a mechanical watch in 1950, whose case did not allow an adjustment to ten minutes so easily. Established as a kind of standard value, the snooze button still lasts exactly nine minutes even on most smartphones.

WHY WE REALLY SNOOZE

We think to ourselves, “No time like the present, no time like the future,” when we have a very organized and scheduled day ahead of us, but we press the snooze button again and again. If we’re honest, we’re much less likely to hit the snooze button when we have a nice event, a big day or an exciting experience awaiting us. We tend to stay in bed a little longer when we want to avoid the tasks that await us that day. Our tasks and duties may not take care of themselves as a result, but let’s give ourselves that little bit of respite and mental preparation for a tough day!

SNOOZING, WHICH IS IN THE GENES

There are two kinds of people, so to speak: The larks and the owls – the early risers and the morning grouches. Those who are still active late in the evening and don’t go to sleep until after midnight are most likely still in their deep sleep phase when the alarm clock rings in the morning. It’s no wonder that you don’t feel asleep yet and would prefer not only to activate the snooze button, but to switch off the alarm clock completely. Of course, it also happens that we haven’t had enough sleep due to various circumstances and therefore want to snooze a little longer.

How unhealthy is the snooze button really?

SLEEP EXPERTS WARN AGAINST THE SNOOZE BUTTON

Most sleep experts believe that the snooze button leads to problems falling asleep and insomnia in the long run. The fear behind it is that you will fall asleep again in the snooze time and reach the deep sleep phase. Then, if you keep getting jolted awake by the alarm clock, you’ll confuse your brain and disrupt your sleep rhythm. Also, right after you wake up, hormones are released to help you wake up. Then when you go back to sleep, you slow down or prevent the process of relaxed awakening. So stay away from repeatedly activating the snooze button!

A SHORT REPRIEVE BEFORE GETTING UP IS HARMLESS

Pressing the snooze button several times in a row and being jerked out of sleep over and over again can actually be harmful to our biorythm. But if you really only press the snooze button once to collect yourself for a moment and come to before getting up, there is no threat to your health. If you just can’t get out of bed because your body isn’t rested yet, the snooze button is a good way to give your brain and circulation a little more time before you get out of bed and start your day.

Alternatives to the Snooze button

TIP 1: FACE THE DAY POSITIVELY

After getting up, I have to get ready, I have to go to work, I have to give a presentation, when I get home I have to clean up the apartment… I would like to stay in bed today – you recognize your last thoughts before you activate the snooze button? Then try to change your way of thinking in the morning. Instead of thinking about all the tasks you have to do that day, create a morning ritual that makes it easier to get up, such as eating a delicious and filling breakfast. Then, after waking up, think “I have to do this and that today, but first a delicious breakfast!” and get out of bed better. One of the simplest alternatives to the Snooze button.

TIP 2: WAKE UP SLOWER INSTEAD OF DELAYING WAKING UP

Staying in bed nine minutes longer won’t give you more energy for the day and you won’t feel more rested – hard but true. That’s why you should not activate the snooze button hoping to get more sleep, but think of it as a wake-up phase and use it to slowly wake up. Try not to fall asleep again after activating the snooze button, but prepare yourself mentally for getting up. You can also open your eyes or take off your sleep mask and think about what you want to have for breakfast or wear that morning. Even if you have a hard day ahead of you – think positive! If all this doesn’t help, you can also try an alarm clock for deep sleepers.

TIP 3: RECOGNIZE WHEN THE DEEP SLEEP PHASE IS OVER WITHOUT SNOOZE BUTTON

Ideally, the snooze button is a tool to delay getting up if the alarm rings while you are still in the deep sleep phase. Our sleep consists of a cycle that repeats itself several times during the night. We find it easiest to get up at the end of such a cycle. So-called sleep phase alarm clocks, with the help of sleep trackers, gently wake you up like a light alarm clock and, above all, exactly when you are in this phase that is favorable for waking up, making the snooze button overdue. Because let’s face it, we’d oversleep half as often if we said goodbye to the snooze button. Surely I’m not the only one?