;Resize=(1200,627)&impolicy=perceptual&quality=mediumHigh&hash=65936fc8c656c40e48ad473b04ead4b7b9e19547f04ce15318b75ffa476bb21d "Getting up: A habit in the morning robs your body of a lot of energy")
“Just sleep a little longer,” many people think to themselves in the morning and press the snooze button on their alarm clock. Read here why this isn’t good for your body.
Some people jump out of bed straight away in the morning and are wide awake, but for others it is absolute horror when their alarm clock wakes them from their restful sleep.
Do you belong to the second category? Then you should still avoid using the snooze button because it releases hormones in the brain that would normally put you into a deep sleep.
Snoozing confuses the body
The problem with snoozing: You only lie in bed for another five or ten minutes before the alarm wakes you up again.
This is extremely confusing for the body, as experts from the US Sleep Clinic Service (SCS) point out. They recommend simply setting the alarm ten minutes later than before – and getting up as soon as the alarm goes off.
This is what lies behind sleep inertia
Failure to do this can cause the body to struggle with what is known as “sleep inertia.”
This is actually the special feeling of lightheadedness that you feel when and shortly after waking up. However, in extreme cases it can last for hours.
Ideal sleep: Listen to your internal clock
Ideally, you should go to bed when you’re tired – and let your body decide when you’ve had enough sleep.
However, the reality is different: stress, children, jobs – and even snoozing – often prevent you from being able to set your internal clock correctly.
You can learn to sleep properly
“Long sleep periods of more than 9 hours can affect health in the same way as short sleep periods,” say the researchers.
Research shows that prolonged sleep can increase the risk of dementia, cause memory loss and lead to weight gain.
On the other hand, less than six hours per night is also not recommended – and is difficult to make up for.
The experts recommend: The best way to catch up on sleep is to allow yourself an extra hour or two over a longer period of time. For example, an extra hour per day for a week or even a month.
To gain control over your sleep schedule, it can help to buy an analog alarm clock that doesn’t have a snooze button, or place the alarm somewhere in the room so you have to get up to turn it off.