x
Breaking News
More () »

Verify | To snooze or not to snooze?

This time of year, when it's cold and dark in the morning, getting out of bed isn't easy. A lot of us hit snooze to tack on a few extra minutes of much needed sleep.

This time of year, when it's cold and dark in the morning, getting out of bed isn't easy.  A lot of us hit snooze to tack on a few extra minutes of much needed sleep.

But is the snooze button bad for you? Our verify team finds out.

To snooze or not to snooze. For every person you ask, there's a different answer. Sleep and waking is a very personal matter. Everyone's sleep needs are different, and everyone's bodies are created in a unique way.

Turns out there's a researcher, right here in Arkansas at UAMS, who studies sleep and waking.  

Is hitting snooze good or bad?

"I can verify that the answer's not that simple," Dr. Edgar Garcia-Rill said. 

Dr Garcia-Rill has researched the sleep-waking cycle, and he's even written books about it.

"These red cells control sleep and waking," Garcia-Rill said

He said early in the morning, when you're about to wake up, you're in your longest rapid eye movement sleep episode. He said it's less about whether to snooze and more about waking up in a soothing way.

"So, what you want when you wake up is to wake up as gently as possible," he said. "So if you are gonna hit the snooze button make it gentle, a little trill, or a little rising music, or something like that -- not a harsh alarm that wakes you up. Most of the time I get up before my alarm goes off, so I guess I would have to say when it goes off, I get up." 

But if that's not you, Dr. Garcia-Rill recommends getting at least seven hours plus or minus of sleep each night. If you're still exhausted, reaching for snooze, he said make sure there are no underlying health issues and suggests trying to wake slowly with a soft alarm to help you mimic your natural wake cycle. 

"It's a vicious cycle," he said, "but it makes me feel like I stole some extra sleep." 

Before You Leave, Check This Out