How long should the snooze interval be?
Most alarm clocks default to 9 minutes — a length set in the 1950s by mechanical clock manufacturers. There is no scientific basis for this duration, and any snooze cycle short of 90 minutes will not give restorative sleep.
The 9-minute origin
When General Electric introduced the snooze button on mechanical clocks in 1956, the gear ratio limited the interval to either 9 or 10 minutes. Nine minutes won, and it has been the default for 70 years.
Why no interval works
Restorative sleep requires uninterrupted cycles of 60–90 minutes. No snooze interval shorter than that can deliver meaningful rest — Sundelin et al. (2024) confirmed snooze sleep is light and fragmented at any duration tested.
Better strategy
Skip the snooze entirely. If you need more sleep, set a later wake time and commit to it. If you need a forced wake-up, use an app like ByeBed with a mission requirement.
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
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