To stop hitting snooze, put your alarm across the room, set it for the time you actually need to get up rather than an early "snooze buffer", stand up and turn on the light the moment it rings, and give yourself a specific first action. Most importantly, get enough sleep: people who snooze tend to sleep less, and snoozing is often your body asking for sleep it did not get.
What research says about snoozing
A 2023 study by Tina Sundelin and colleagues at Stockholm University is the most detailed look at snoozing so far. In a survey of 1,732 people, snoozing was widespread, especially among younger people and night owls, and snoozers reported more morning drowsiness and shorter sleep. In a lab test with 31 habitual snoozers, 30 minutes of snoozing cost about six minutes of sleep and did not harm cognitive performance, mood or stress hormones compared with waking abruptly.
So, honestly: an occasional short snooze is not the disaster the internet says it is. The real problem is what chronic snoozing points to: not enough sleep, and mornings that start with a lost negotiation.
9 tricks to stop hitting snooze
- Put the alarm across the room. You have to stand up to stop it, and once you are up, staying up is easier.
- Set one real alarm. Not 6:00, 6:09, 6:18. Set the time you need to get up and nothing earlier.
- Count down and move. When it rings, count 5-4-3-2-1 and put your feet on the floor before your brain starts arguing.
- Lights on immediately. Bright light helps clear the grogginess of sleep inertia, which usually fades within about half an hour (Tassi and Muzet, 2000).
- Keep water next to the alarm. Drinking a glass gives you a first task that is not "get back in bed".
- Have a reason ready. Decide the night before what the first 15 minutes are for: a workout, a walk, the most important task.
- Make the alarm say something. A generic beep is easy to dismiss. An alarm that shows you why you set it is harder to ignore.
- Fix your bedtime. Adults need seven or more hours regularly (Watson et al., 2015). Count back from your alarm.
- Keep the same wake time daily. A consistent schedule makes waking up easier over time, weekends included.
What if I hit snooze in my sleep?
Some people turn alarms off without remembering. Put the phone or clock far enough away that you must walk to it, use an alarm that requires a deliberate action to stop, and look at your sleep: it often happens when you are very sleep-deprived.
Is hitting snooze bad for you?
Based on current research, short snoozing is not clearly harmful for people who habitually do it. But if you rely on long snooze sessions every day, the better fix is more sleep and an earlier bedtime, not a better snooze strategy.
Want something to get up for? Read the morning motivation quotes or how to wake up at 5am.
FAQ
Why do I keep hitting snooze?
Usually because you are not getting enough sleep, your alarm is too easy to reach, or you have nothing specific planned for the first minutes of the day.
Is it bad to hit snooze?
A 2023 study found 30 minutes of snoozing cost about six minutes of sleep and did not harm cognition or mood in habitual snoozers. The bigger concern is the lack of sleep that often causes snoozing.
What is the best alarm to stop snoozing?
One you have to get out of bed to turn off, set for the time you really need to get up, ideally showing a reason to get up.
Sources
- Sundelin, T., Landry, S., & Axelsson, J. (2024). Is snoozing losing? Why intermittent morning alarms are used and how they affect sleep, cognition, cortisol, and mood. Journal of Sleep Research, 33(3), e14054. doi.org/10.1111/jsr.14054
- Watson, N. F., et al. (2015). Recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult: A joint consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 11(6), 591–592. doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.4758
- Tassi, P., & Muzet, A. (2000). Sleep inertia. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 4(4), 341–353. doi.org/10.1053/smrv.2000.0098
