Research from Stockholm University suggests that snooze buttons on alarm clocks and cell phones may not be as harmful as often thought. Although snoozers may stay asleep for a slightly shorter period of time, they do not experience adverse effects on sleep quality or cognitive function upon awakening.
It is often claimed that using the snooze button can negatively impact sleep and cognitive processes, but there has been no direct evidence of this effect. New research from the Department of Psychology at Stockholm University suggests that for people who frequently nap, napping may actually help wake them up.
When the alarm goes off in the morning, people often want to stay in bed and maybe even go back to sleep. Alarm clocks and cell phones have had "snooze" functions for decades, and are often thought to negatively impact sleep and the brain's ability to wake up. However, there are no scientific studies to support these claims. Researchers at Stockholm University have now investigated the prevalence of napping and the impact this behavior has on sleep, sleepiness, mood and cognitive performance.
"Our results show that compared to people who never nap, people who take longer naps sleep slightly shorter on average and feel more drowsy in the morning. But napping has no negative impact on cortisol release, morning tiredness, mood, or sleep quality throughout the night," said Tina Sundelin, a researcher at Stockholm University and first author of the paper.
In the first study, 1,732 people answered questions about their morning habits, including how often they used the snooze button. Many people report frequent naps. This behavior is particularly common among young people and late-night sleepers. The most common reason for nodding off is that you feel too tired and don't want to get up when the alarm goes off.
In the second study, 31 frequent nappers spent two nights in a sleep lab to measure their sleep in more detail. On one of the mornings, they can take a nap for 30 minutes, and on the other morning, they have to get up immediately when the alarm goes off. The result is a feeling of calm for the napper. Although the participants' sleep was disrupted during the half-hour nap, most of them still slept for quite a while - more than 20 minutes. This means their sleep throughout the night is barely affected. Additionally, when napping, no one had to wake up from deep sleep, and nappers performed better on cognitive tests after waking up. Meanwhile, napping had no significant effect on mood, sleepiness, or cortisol levels in saliva.
"Our study shows that taking a half-hour nap does not negatively impact nighttime sleep or sleep inertia (the feeling of not being quite awake after waking up in the morning). If anything, we also see some positive results, such as being less likely to wake up from deep sleep. When participants were allowed to nap, they also felt more alert after waking up. Of course, it's important to remember that this study only included people who nap frequently and are prone to going back to sleep after each alarm," said Tina-Sandlin.