Snooze button
Does it make sense or not?
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Are you one of those people who constantly snooze the alarm clock before they get up? Then you should know these advantages and disadvantages of it!
The snooze button: a double-edged sword?
The alarm clock is ringing. And instead of jumping out of bed full of energy, you briefly press the popular snooze button and drift off again into the land of dreams. Do you recognize yourself there too? No wonder, after all, slumbering is really something beautiful. But are we actually doing our health a favor by using the snooze button?
Snoozing disturbs the sleep-wake rhythm
The US sleep disorder researcher Robert Rosenberg argues that the constant waking and sleeping through the snooze button can harm us. Because the eternal slumber disturbs the so-called circadian rhythm. This means: our brain no longer knows whether it should be awake or tired – which in turn can lead to greater tiredness during the day. This also weakens the performance.
Social jet lag as a cause
Unfortunately, the problem is not solved directly by simply doing without the snooze button in the future (that would be difficult enough for most of us). Because in most cases, Rosenberg sees the general reason why we simply cannot get out of bed in one chronicLack of sleep – also known as social jet lag.
Sleep deprivation is a night with less than six hours of sleep. Rosenberg suspects that most people only use the snooze button so excessively because they generally don't get enough sleep.
But why do we sleep so badly?
Although many people suffered from sleep disorders even before the technical revolution, since smartphones and the like found their way into bed, the problem has worsened again, according to Rosenberg. And research proves him right: The blue light that the devices emit confuses our sensitive nervous system and thus the sleep-wake cycle. The light lowers the level of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin – and as a result, we rely more on the snooze button.
Can the snooze button still help my health?
However, you don't have to completely demonize the snooze button – you just have to use it correctly. We just can't see the snooze button as an instrument that allows us to sleep longer. Because with that we irritate our sleep-wake rhythm. Instead, we should see the snooze button as a way to extend the wake-up period and to support our organism to start the day gently. The following tips will help:
- Pay attention to your sleep cycle: It is best if you have just completed a full sleep cycle and, most importantly, deep sleep when the alarm goes off. This makes waking up easier.
- Just snooze once: If you repeatedly press the snooze button every few minutes and then fall asleep, you shift your sleep rhythm. So it's better to only activate the snooze button once and really try to wake up slowly.
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Even more tips for better sleep
To get rid of sleep disorders the following tips help:
- First of all, banish technical devices from the bedroom in the evening.
- In general, laptops, smartphones and the like should be switched off about 90 minutes before going to bed so that the body can adjust to sleep.
- Evening rituals such as a cup of calming tea (e.g. with hops or valerian) or breathing exercises can help you fall asleep relaxed.
Routine is the keyword here, if you want to do without the snooze function as completely as possible in the future.
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