Topics: Health, Mental Health, Psychology, Science, Sleep, TikTok
Hard luck if you thought you were better safe than sorry for setting multiple alarms in the morning.
If, like me, you plug your phone in each night and tap away at about five different alarms in fear of missing one, not waking up, and then being late to work—or just want to ease yourself a bit out of bed, giving yourself a few different intervals to actually wake up by—well, it turns out, you should probably rethink how you plan your sleep schedule because it could be doing more harm than good.
Nurse Jordan took to her TikTok page last month to explain why it can actually be damaging to your health to set 'multiple' alarms in the morning.
In the video, she explains: "Waking to multiple alarms every morning really disrupts your REM cycle frequently.
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"This actually causes sleep inertia, increased drowsiness, fatigue, mood swings and it also raises your cortisol levels.
"Every time your alarm goes off, you're in that fight or flight response, so waking up like that multiple times in the morning is very stressful."
So, what should you do instead to make sure you don't wake up on the wrong side of the bed when it comes to your health?
Well, the answer is kind of simple.
Jordan says: "So when your alarm goes off in the morning, get up! Don't keep traumatizing yourself."
And it's not taken long for people to flood to the comments to weigh in.
One TikToker said: "Jokes on you, I sleep through the alarms and that's why I need several. can't have sleep inertia if you don't wake up."
"If I COULD wake up with just one alarm DO YOU THINK I WOULD USE SO MANY?" Another added.
However, a third recommended: "A sunrise alarm clock changed my life! It works and it’s the most peaceful way to wake up. The first day I woke up I literally woke up with a smile on my face."
In a follow-up video, Jordan responded to the comments which've flooded in on her original post, addressing some common concerns - such as how to break the pattern of relying on multiple alarms.
Jordan advises: "The first step is to maintain a regular circadian rhythm - this will help your body naturally regulate a sleep cycle."
You do this by going to bed and waking up at roughly 'the same time every day even on your days off'.
"That way, when that first alarm goes off, you'll be ready to go," she adds, noting if you break this every so often because you go out late on night, it's 'not gonna hurt you'.
You should also 'keep into consideration that your brain is malleable,' and by this, Jordan means you have the control and power over forming new habits and making sure your brain recognizes and sticks to them.
While 'rewiring' your brain does take some work and 'a lot of consistency' - and kids and partners don't always help - you 'will get there' and it's worth it to feel better rested and more ready for the day in the morning.
And if you're really struggling, there's always putting your alarm device on the other side of the room to really force yourself up and out.
