According to this expert, it’s in your best interest to get out of bed at the first ring…
Just five more minutes! Every morning, it’s the same story. The alarm rings and you push back the start of the day for a few minutes, pressing “snooze“However, experts are clear: it seriously harms your health and that’s why. Azizi Seixasassociate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Miami, explains what happens when you put off waking up: “For the first five to eight minutes after your alarm goes off and you’ve snoozed, your brain can enter a new sleep cycle, usually consisting of light sleep. This disrupts the natural sleep cycle, leading to sleep inertia, which is the feeling dizziness and of disorientation felt when waking from a deep sleep. In this case, blood pressure and heart rate tend to increase. Additionally, by repeating the alarms, your body submits to a certain threatleading it to produce more cortisol, also known as stress hormonea favorable ground in the long term for Stroke and heart disease. So, you think you’re doing your body good by staying a little longer in bed when in reality, you’re stressing it out! “In those precious minutes between hitting the snooze button and going off a second alarm, your brain begins to undergo a disruptive process.” confirmed Katherine Hall, sleep psychologist at Newsweek.
The best way to wake up gently
The best way to wake up gently and healthy is natural light. “Exposure to light in the morning can help regulate the internal clock and improve wakefulness” explained Azizi Seixas. You can also use an alarm clock set to sunlight or a light therapy lamp. If you prefer to stick to a regular alarm, here are some recommendations: Katherine Hall :
- Stop hitting snooze or setting multiple alarms. Try a week with a single alarm to assess sleep quality.
- Choose a soothing wake-up tune.
- Move your alarm clock away from you, you will have to get up to turn it off.
- Change your body temperature by getting out of the duvet as soon as you wake up, this will wake up your brain.
- Set a realistic alarm time to resist the urge to snooze.
- Make sure you get a good night’s sleep by wearing warm, comfortable clothes, which will make getting out of bed easier.
This should guarantee you a more comfortable night’s sleep, without needing to press “snooze”.