Is it better to wake up immediately or snooze a few times?
Waking immediately on the first alarm shortens sleep inertia and avoids fragmented light sleep. Research found no measurable benefit to snoozing.
The lab evidence
Sundelin et al. (2024) directly compared snoozing vs. immediate wake-up in 31 habitual snoozers. Snoozers gained 6 minutes of fragmented sleep but had no improvement in cortisol, mood, or sleep architecture.
Sleep inertia is worse when interrupted
Trotti's 2017 review found that sleep inertia is generally worse when you wake from deep sleep — but multiple snoozes increase the risk of waking from a deeper stage on a later cycle. First-alarm wake-ups are more predictable.
Build a reason to get up
A wake-up mission gives your brain an immediate task. ByeBed's missions activate cognition and motor function within 30 seconds of the alarm, cutting through inertia faster than passive snoozing.
Sources
- Sundelin et al., Journal of Sleep Research, 2024. Is snoozing losing? Why intermittent morning alarms are used and how they affect sleep, cognition, cortisol, and mood
- Trotti, Nature and Science of Sleep, 2017. Sleep inertia: current insights
Tired of hitting snooze?
ByeBed replaces the snooze button with a mission. Math, push-ups, photo. The alarm only stops when you complete it. Free to try.
Download ByeBed on the App Store