Conventional sleep wisdom says: never hit the snooze button. But what if that advice is too simplistic? The Wall Street Journal explored the nuanced reality of snoozing — and the answer isn’t as straightforward as sleep purists might suggest.
The case against snoozing is clear: each time you hit snooze and drift back to sleep, you initiate a new sleep cycle that you can’t complete in 9 minutes. Waking from an incomplete cycle causes “sleep inertia” — the groggy, disoriented feeling that can take an hour or more to shake off. Hitting snooze multiple times repeats this cycle, leaving you feeling worse than if you’d simply gotten up.
When Snoozing Might Actually Help
- You’re not a chronic snoozer — Occasional snoozing when genuinely exhausted is different from habitually hitting snooze every day.
- You use it as a gentle wake transition — Some people use the first alarm as a signal to begin waking, using the snooze interval to mentally prepare rather than going back to deep sleep.
- The real problem is deeper — If you need to snooze every day, it’s a sign you’re either not getting enough sleep or your alarm timing is wrong for your sleep cycle. Address the root cause instead.
The Better Alternative
- Set your alarm for when you actually need to get up — Place it across the room so you must stand up to turn it off.
- Use a light-based alarm — Wake lights that gradually brighten simulate sunrise, waking you more gently than a jarring sound.
- Get enough sleep in the first place — The need to snooze usually means you went to bed too late.
The best alarm is a body that’s had enough sleep. For help building sleep habits that make you want to get up, visit The Sleep Ambassador’s courses and resources. Read the full article on The Wall Street Journal →