Wake-up call: How snoozing your alarm is costing you more sleep

We’ve all been there. Monday morning, alarm blasting, and without even thinking, your hand shoots out to hit snooze. “Just five more minutes”, you whisper to yourself. Maybe even ten. But while those extra moments under the covers feel like sweet relief, they might actually be messing with your sleep more than helping.

A new study from researchers at Mass General Brigham, the largest hospital-based research group in the US, has found that the cherished snooze button might be doing more harm than good.

Published in Scientific Reports, the study analysed over 3 million nights of sleep using data from the Sleep Cycle app. And what it found could make you rethink your morning routine.

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So, how common is snoozing? What does it really do to your brain and body? And is there a better way to wake up? Here’s a closer look.

You are not the only one

If you thought you were alone in your morning snooze ritual, think again. The study led by researchers at Mass General Brigham shows that reaching for the snooze button is a habit shared by many around the world.

Using data from more than 21,000 users of the Sleep Cycle app, the team discovered that nearly 56 per cent of sleep sessions involved hitting the snooze button. On average, users squeezed in about 11 extra minutes of sleep between alarms before actually getting out of bed.

“Many of us hit the snooze alarm in the morning with the hope of getting a little more sleep,” explained Dr Rebecca Robbins, the study’s lead author and a sleep expert at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “But that extra sleep is usually very light and fragmented,” she added.

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The research also showed that snoozing is far more common on weekdays, particularly Monday through Friday, when rigid work schedules make early wake-ups unavoidable. On weekends, people are less likely to snooze, perhaps because they’re waking up on their own or simply allowing themselves more rest.

Interestingly, those clocking fewer than five hours of sleep per night were found to be the least likely to snooze, likely because they had no choice but to get moving immediately due to responsibilities or time constraints.

Geographically, the snoozing trend was most prominent in countries like the United States, Sweden, and Germany. Meanwhile, users in Japan and Australia were least likely to delay their alarms.

Why snoozing does more harm than good

While those few extra minutes in bed might feel like a small morning luxury, experts warn that snoozing could be quietly sabotaging the quality of your rest—and your day.

According to Robbins, the sleep we get after pressing snooze is typically fragmented and shallow, meaning it doesn’t offer the same restorative benefits as uninterrupted sleep. Instead of feeling refreshed, many people end up groggier than before.

“Certainly, if you’re feeling worse off (and) more tired from the snooze alarm, I would recommend going back to waking up cold turkey without it,” Fiala, who also runs the CommunityHealth Chicago sleep clinic told CNN.

But why does this happen? This is because the last stages of sleep before we naturally wake up are crucial. This is when our brain gets rich amounts of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, important for memory and emotional processing.

“The hours just before waking are rich in rapid eye movement sleep. Hitting the snooze alarm will interrupt these critical stages of sleep and typically only offer you light sleep in between snooze alarms,” said Robbins.

So while hitting snooze might seem harmless, it’s not just costing you a few extra minutes; it could be robbing you of the quality sleep your body needs to function at its best.

What should you do?

Tempting as it may be to sneak in those extra few minutes of sleep, experts suggest you’re better off resisting the snooze button altogether.

“The best approach for optimising your sleep and next day performance is to set your alarm for the latest possible time, then commit to getting out of bed when your first alarm goes off,” said Robbins.

In short: set it and don’t forget it.

Another strategy is to build a consistent sleep schedule. According to Kimberly Honn, associate professor of psychology at Washington State University Spokane, maintaining regular sleep and wake times helps your body complete its sleep cycles properly, reducing that groggy, fogged-up feeling known as sleep inertia.

At deep stages of sleep, electric pulses of the brain reach a highly rhythmic pattern, Honn explained to CNN. Trying to wake up during these stages cuts important brain maintenance processes short and can lead one to experience sleep inertia, which can last for several minutes or even hours.

But when your body follows a regular routine, it starts to move through sleep stages at predictable times. That way, you’re more likely to wake during lighter sleep, and feel sharper and more refreshed.

“In the perfect world, we would not be relying on an alarm clock at all,” said Robbins. “We would be able to fall asleep and wake up naturally and have energy throughout the day.”

If you’re struggling to make the switch, try giving yourself something to look forward to in the morning, a warm cup of tea, your favourite breakfast, or a quick walk in the sun. It’s all about building a routine that supports both your body and your motivation.

And if you must tweak your schedule, do it slowly. Sleep specialist Fiala advises adjusting your bedtime by no more than 30 minutes, even on weekends. Shifting gradually, he says, is better than shocking your system.

The bottom line: Better sleep starts the moment you stop snoozing.

With input from agencies