Sleep expert explains why you should hit the snooze button when waking up

A sleep expert has explained why hitting the snooze button when you wake up could actually be good for you after all.

I think we're all guilty of it... getting those couple of extra ten minutes in bed before getting up for work is certainly the norm.

However, we've been constantly told over the years that pressing the snooze button is actually pretty bad for us.

New York Times bestseller Mel Robbins, known for her TEDx talk 'How to Stop Screwing Yourself Over', previously warned against pressing the snooze button.

Speaking on The Mel Robbins Podcast last year, the neuroscientist explained: "When you hit the snooze button, you're awake. And as the alarm turns off, your brain then drifts back into sleep.

"And here's the thing that researchers have figured out: when you drift back to sleep after you've woken up, your brain starts a sleep cycle, and sleep cycles take 75 to 90 minutes to complete."

"Have you ever noticed you're like in deep sleep when you drift back to sleep?" she continued. "That's because you're nine minutes into a 75 minute sleep cycle."

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But now, a medical TikToker by the name of Dr. Dustin Portela has shone a light on some new research that suggests hitting the snooze may not be so bad for us after all.

The expert explained how instead of making your sleep quality worse or making you feel more tired when you finally get out of bed, snoozing might not have much of an impact at all on those factors.

The theory is backed up by a sleep study published in late 2023 in the Journal of Sleep Research.

It is all centered around whether these 'intermittent morning alarms' are bad for folks.

Tina Sundelin, the study’s lead author and associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Stockholm University in Sweden, told NBC News that "snoozing for 30 minutes in the morning does not make you more tired or more likely to wake up from deep sleep."

Many have since flocked to Dr. Portela's TikTok video to discuss their own sleeping patterns.

"I knew it, I put an alarm 30 minutes before I have to wake up then 5 minutes before I have to wake up then when I have to wake up then 5 minutes after," one person said.

"I deliberately set my alarm earlier than I need so I have snooze time," a second added.

Well, I guess this is good news for those dedicated snoozers out there!