Video: The Snooze Button. What Happens When You Press It?

The snooze button, one of man’s best inventions. But is it really helping you out, or making you more tired? Are those 9 extra minutes really helping you get more rest?

Our bodies have chemical mechanisms to wake us up naturally, but the alarm interferes with your sleep cycle. Especially if you don’t have a regular sleep schedule. When the alarm goes off your body isn’t ready to wake up, meaning that you are left in a groggy and tired state. And the deeper your sleep cycle was when the alarm went off, the worse these symptoms are.

When you press the snooze button in an attempt to get more sleep, your body restarts the sleep cycle by entering a deeper sleep stage. It goes the opposite direction from waking up. And the few minutes before your alarm goes off again are not enough for your body to go naturally through the entire sleep cycle. As a result, waking up is even harder the second time.

Here are 6 tricks to waking up in the morning that you can try (instead of pressing the snooze button):

1. Adopt a more regular sleep schedule, including on the weekends.
2. Power through the first 10 minutes. This is when the stress hormone cortisol gets released, helping you feel more awake.
3. Try a natural light alarm clock.
4. Move around after you get out of bed. This stimulates your brain and body, helping shrug off the sleep.
5. Have a refreshing shower.
6. Plan something you enjoy for first thing in the morning, like your favorite breakfast, to give you an incentive to get out of bed. But remember that coffee right after you wake up is not a great idea (and here’s why)!