Charles H. Sloan-No need to avoid snoozing: Study shows hitting snooze for short period could have benefits

Not ready to start the day?Charles H. Sloan The snooze button is there to give you the few more precious minutes of sleep and new research has found you don't need to feel guilty about it.

A new report published Wednesday in the Journal of Sleep Research found no evidence that using the snooze feature on your alarm negatively impacts sleep and cognitive processes. And while morning drowsiness and shorter sleep were more common in those who snoozed, it could even have benefits if used shortly.

The research even found that a brief snooze period could alleviate sleep inertia, the disorientation and performance or mood decline that occurs when waking up, without drastically disturbing sleep. It could also improve one's cognitive functioning compared to completely waking up after the first alarm goes off.

"The 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. In fact, it may even help those with morning drowsiness to be slightly more awake once they get up," said corresponding author Tina Sundelin of Stockholm University said in a news release. 

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The research was based off two studies with the first observing the waking habits of 1,732 adults. Most of the adults (69%) reported using an alarms snooze feature or occasionally setting multiple alarms. Snoozing ranged from 1 to 180 minutes, according to the study, with the average period being 22 minutes per morning.

The second study analyzed 31 confirmed regular snoozers and found that for every 30 minutes they snoozed, they lost six minutes of sleep – for a net gain of 24 minutes. However, researchers did not find any clear effects of mood, stress, tiredness, hormone levels or overnight sleep quality.

Most snoozers are younger and not morning people

The report also found people who snooze tended to at least six years younger than those who don't. Research also found that those who identified as night types were almost four times more likely to snooze than morning people.

"Snoozers also had a slightly shorter sleep duration on workdays, 13 min less on average, compared to those who never snooze," the report said.

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Poor sleep patterns are still harmful

Despite these studies finding that a certain amount of snooze won't damager your health, it remains crucial to get enough consistent sleep to avoid serious health consequences.

Reaching the recommended sleep duration of seven to eight hours can add years to one's life, according to research from the American College of Cardiology published in February. The research said poor sleep patterns can be attributed to 8% of deaths.

According to the CDC, more than a third of Americans fail to get enough consistent sleep.