Five more minutes: why you can’t put off your alarm clock?

According to statistics, the ringing of the alarm clock is among the most annoying sounds, regardless of the set melody. The brain perceives forced awakening as stress and, naturally, resists it in every possible way.

The temptation to bask in a warm cozy bed is so great that the function “postpone alarm clock” is very popular among smartphone users. And some people even set their alarm clock for earlier in the morning to snooze a few extra minutes and not be late for anything.

Scientists advise to forget about the button “postpone alarm clock”. It turns out that the desire to delay the moment of awakening even five minutes can turn out to be unexpected and very unpleasant consequences.

How is healthy sleep organized?

The problem of the impact of prolonging sleep on human health is concerned about the assistant professor of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Texas, Steven Bender. In his opinion, a seemingly harmless habit can have a negative impact on brain function.

The human biological clock (or circadian rhythms) adjusts all physiological processes in the body according to a 24-hour cycle. Most adults require 7.5-8 hours of quality sleep per night to recover. This duration allows for ample time in the various phases of sleep. Typically, a full night’s sleep accommodates 4-6 cycles of transition through the three stages of slow-wave sleep (NREM) into the rapid eye movement (REM) phase. The first part of the night is mostly spent in the NREM phase, while the second half is dominated by REM sleep.

Why doesn’t a person get enough sleep?

Maintaining this clear structure helps to achieve a good, restful sleep and not feel tired after waking up in the morning. Disturbed sleep cycles can be caused by various factors: breathing difficulties (snoring or apnea), alcohol and tobacco use, use of electronic devices shortly before falling asleep, late meals.

Thus, feeling tired in the morning and reluctance to get up when the alarm clock rings are often not indicative of a lack of time to sleep, but of irregularities in biological cycles.

How does delayed awakening affect the body?

Studying the question of easy awakening, Stephen Bender came to the conclusion that the desire to postpone the alarm clock for 5-10 minutes most often has one of two reasons. The first is a habit from adolescence, resulting from a change in circadian rhythms, i.e. a reorganization of the biological clock. The second is a symptom of deeper problems, including improper lifestyle and even some chronic diseases. Therefore, if you spent 7-8 hours in bed, but in the morning you feel broken and tired, this should be a wake-up call and a reason to consult a specialist.

As for the direct effect of sleep after the alarm clock on the state and health of a person, such a nap does not have a positive effect. For such a short sleep the body simply does not have time to activate the recovery processes, so that neither sleep nor energize after the alarm bell will not work.

Moreover, regularly pushing back the moment of awakening for a few minutes, you can even harm your health. According to some hypotheses, short stretches of drowsiness after the end of a night’s sleep mislead the brain by activating the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. As a result, instead of vigor, a person feels even more tired and sleepy during the day.

Therefore, scientists believe, it is best to give yourself enough time to sleep in advance and get up immediately after the alarm clock rings. No matter how much you would like to press the “postpone for 5 minutes” button.