Hitting the Snooze Button Takes a Hit on Your Health and Productivity

When the alarm clock goes off in the morning most of us will hit the snooze button so we can get a few extra minutes of sleep before facing the day, and we do so without ever stopping to think about what kind of negative consequences that hitting snooze could have on our health or productivity throughout the day.   Experts are now saying that hitting the snooze button and going back to sleep actually does more harm than it does good.   For starters, those few extra minutes of sleep don’t allow you to get the quality of sleep that is required for you to awaken feeling refreshed and ready to get on with the day, and the experts say that coffee and a shower aren’t enough to snap you out of what they call the ‘sleep-inertia grogginess,’ which they say can take up to an hour and a half for the body to recover from.   Furthermore, hitting that snooze button for a few extra minutes of sleep interrupts your normal sleeping patterns by initiating a new sleep cycle that will inevitably be ended abruptly when the alarm goes off again.   According to the experts, a few of the effects of hitting snooze include: * Grogginess and disorientation upon awakening * Persistent fatigue * Inhibited decision making abilities * Impaired memory * Reduced productivity * An overall dampened general performance * Disrupted sleeping patterns * Off-beat circadian cycle * Chronic sleep deprivation * A higher body-mass index * Elevated risk of diabetes   The best way to help avoid feeling the need to hit the snooze button every morning is to implement a healthier sleep cycle, allowing yourself to achieve at least the 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night, as is recommended for adults by the National Sleep Foundation. Here are some tips that can be implemented to help ensure you’re receiving the quality of sleep your mind and body require.   * Start a new routine that will allow you to get to bed earlier. A good way to ease yourself into an earlier bedtime is to start by going to bed 30 minutes earlier than you normally would. Then if you still feel sleep deprived, try moving bedtime back to an hour earlier.   * Try not to eat anything during the 2 hours prior to your desired bedtime   * Allow 90 minutes of technology-free time before going to bed each night. Experts say the overstimulation and blue light from devices like smart phones, laptops and TVs inhibits your sleep by delaying melatonin production.   * Choose an alarm sound/tone that you won’t be able to sleep through and move the alarm clock to a location that requires you to get up and out of bed to turn that annoying beeping sound off.   * Do something non-stimulating before bed, like reading a book, magazine, or the newspaper.   Sources: http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/06/health/upwave-snooze-button/index.html?hpt=he_c1 http://upwave.com/sleep/how-to-get-better-sleep-tips-for-a-restful-night?cid=uwcnn01a http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/how-sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need