Overview
- A Mass General Brigham analysis covering more than three million nights found about 56% of people use snooze or set multiple alarms, with users showing lighter pre-awakening sleep and higher heart rates.
- Sleep specialists say repeated alarms break the natural sleep-to-wake transition, intensify sleep inertia, and impair morning alertness and cognition.
- A 2022 study in Sleep Medicine led by Konrad Filser linked habitual snooze use to greater morning fatigue, poorer sleep quality, and more stressful awakenings.
- Clinicians including Rebecca Robbins, Aric Prather, Alicia Roth, and Ruth Msetfi report the behavior often reflects inadequate recovery or anticipatory stress rather than laziness, reinforcing a cycle of fragmented waking.
- Experts recommend shifting sleep schedules, improving nighttime routines, and addressing emotional stressors to reduce reliance on snooze and ease morning transitions.