Stock image of a person hitting the snooze button.Photo:Getty
Getty
If you snooze, you really don’t lose — at least that’s according to a new report about people who use the snooze button function on their clock alarms in the morning.
The report published in theJournal of Sleep Researchfound that, after a study of habitual snoozers, “30 min[utes] of snoozing improved or did not affect performance on cognitive tests directly upon rising compared to an abrupt awakening.”
The study’s summary added, “A brief snooze period may thus help alleviate sleep inertia, without substantially disturbing sleep, for late chronotypes and those with morning drowsiness.”
In a statement emailed toNBC News, Tina Sundelin, the lead author of the study, wrote, “For those who usually snooze, it might even be helpful with waking.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
In one survey measuring snoozing behavior of 1,732 respondents, 69% of them reported “using the snooze function or setting multiple alarms at least ‘sometimes,’ ” the study showed.
For those who engaged in snoozing behavior, the mean or average time spent snoozing each morning is 22 minutes, according to the study, which also looked at the short-term effects of snoozing.
According to the results of that lab study, the researchers found that the participants functioned better “on three out of the four cognitive tests at final waking when they had been allowed 30 min[utes] of snoozing beforehand.”
The report also said that most snoozers are young, given that population studies show that 42% of adolescents have trouble waking up.
In a interview about the study, Dr. Carol Ash of RWJBarnabas Health toldTODAYthat for people that stay up late, “you’re more likely to hit that snooze button because night owls will wake up in the deeper stages of sleep when the alarm goes off. And when they wake up, they’re more likely to be disoriented and have impairment in their mood and performance, so they’ll hit the snooze button.”
“What the study shows,” she added, “is when you hit the snooze button, you wake up and have improved cognitive performance or better thinking, but you’re still miserable and still drowsy.”
source: people.com
