{"id":34982,"date":"2023-10-18T06:01:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T04:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/c59966b7-a646-4c70-b35b-f5caca0b46c3"},"modified":"2023-10-18T07:46:12","modified_gmt":"2023-10-18T05:46:12","slug":"snoozing-your-alarm-may-boost-brain-functioning-new-study","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/snoozing-your-alarm-may-boost-brain-functioning-new-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Snoozing your alarm may boost brain functioning – new study"},"content":{"rendered":"

Turns out if you snooze, you don\u2019t<\/em> lose. <\/p>

By Noa Leach\n <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 18 October 2023 at 04:01 AM<\/p>

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You can stop feeling guilty for hitting that snooze button: a new study by scientists in Sweden suggests that snoozing your alarm may actually help you become more alert after finally waking<\/a>.<\/p>

The research, published in the Journal of Sleep Research<\/em>, involved two studies. The first study established the general profile of snoozers. <\/p>

Of the 1,732 adults who participated, 69 per cent reported that they use the snooze function of their alarms. These snoozers tended to be younger people than non-snoozers. They also had later chronotypes (which influence how active you are at different times of day) \u2013 meaning they were \u2018night owls\u2019. Snoozers were also more likely to sleep<\/a> for a shorter amount of time and to experience morning drowsiness.<\/p>

In the second study, only regular snoozers were examined. The participants were either allowed to snooze for 30 minutes or were made to get up abruptly \u2013 and then asked to perform arithmetic and memory tests. These tests took place immediately and then throughout the day.<\/p>

Participants gifted an extra 30 minutes of snoozing performed better on most of the tests after finally waking. The researchers explain this may be because snoozing allows you to reach a lighter sleep stage than slow-wave sleep or rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep \u2013 which your first alarm is likely to catch you in.<\/p>

However, the benefits of snoozing disappeared after 40 minutes. At this point, the study suggests, your performance on cognitive tasks won’t be affected whether you snooze or wake up immediately.<\/p>

As the study highlights, snoozing generally shortens total sleep time, compared to setting your alarm for a bit later and waking up immediately. Nevertheless, the study found that snoozing had no clear impact \u2013 positive or negative \u2013 on stress hormone levels, mood, morning drowsiness, or overnight sleep quality.<\/p>

While this means it\u2019s not necessarily better<\/em> to snooze, at least you can catch some extra Zs guilt-free.<\/p>

\u201cThe findings indicate that there is no reason to stop snoozing in the morning if you enjoy it, at least not for snooze times around 30 minutes,\u201d said corresponding author Dr Tina Sundelin<\/a>. <\/p>

\u201cIn fact, it may even help those with morning drowsiness to be slightly more awake once they get up.\u201d<\/p>

Read more:<\/strong><\/p>