3 Ways The Snooze Button Is Killing You

I get it, you’re tired. You have worked hard all day, and then tended to kids, spouses, homes, business etc at night.

Or be honest, you stayed up late watching your show.

The alarm goes off and you just can’t do it. Your body feels like a lead weight all snuggled underneath the weight of thick, warm blankets.

Just 5 more minutes.

Then it goes off again. You still can’t imagine putting your feet on that cold floor and making your way the bathroom even though your bladder has felt like it was going to explode for the last hour.

You hit it again. Again. Again. Again.

Just like the hockey coach in the Disney movie Miracle drilling the US men’s hockey team to the point of puking.

Except unlike that 1980 Olympic Gold Medal team, hitting the snooze button won’t make you great.

It takes 90 minutes for your body to complete a sleep cycle so when you snooze and fall back to sleep, you are being woken in the beginning of another cycle.

This leaves you feeling groggy, disoriented and unrested.

Not only is the fragmented sleep snoozing brings bad for your health, but it affects your whole day. And over time, your life.

How hitting the snooze button is slowly killing you:

1. Insufficient sleep is linked to 7 of the 15 leading causes of death in America. During normal sleep your blood pressure goes down. Your heart rate and breathing slow. When you have trouble sleeping or do not get enough sleep your blood pressure remains high. Sleep allows the body to have critical time to recuperate. Using the snooze button perpetuates the issue of consistent and restorative sleep, leaving you at continuous risk for serious health problems like cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes.
   
   
2. It contributes to mental health challenges like depression and anxiety. Every time the alarm goes off it jolts the body with increased cortisol which means you are starting your day off with stress hormones. We know that stress is linked to most major disorders and that healthy sleep is an antidote. Not to mention consistent lack of good sleep significantly increases your risk for things like anxiety and depression. Research by Oxford psychiatrists found that mental illness reduces life expectancy more than heavy smoking, between 10 and 20 years. Yikes.
   
   
3. You are at risk for accidents. Lack of sleeps reduces your reaction time. This means your decision-making skills when you are driving, working or simply navigating a stairwell are impaired. Every year more than 1500 motor vehicle deaths are contributed to drowsy driving. Sleep deprivation affects your balance and coordination which contribute to falls or on the job accidents.

Moral of the story is don’t hit the snooze button. Easy said than done for most.

So we need specific strategies in place to stop this habit and retrain your brain to get up when the alarm goes off. Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!

Leave a comment below, send me an email or DM if you want more information on those. Trust me it’s not as hard as you think.