Kaitlyn Mason | Web Managing Editor
The alarm blares. It’s 7:00 A.M. and time to get up for school, but your eyes feel heavy
and your bed is warm. Surely hitting snooze for an extra couple minutes of shut-eye can’t do too much harm, right? According to the Director of Sleep Disorders Research, Reena Mehra, it just might. Mehra says the repetition of hitting snooze is often an indicator that the person could be getting poor sleep or have an underlying sleep disorder.
When your alarm goes off, you are most likely awakening from the end REM sleep, 
allowing you to wake up with more ease. However, hitting the snooze button will cause you to reawake in the middle of REM sleep. This can cause you to feel foggy and disoriented rather than refreshed and ready to go.
Senior Noah Schenk finds this happening when he hits snooze himself.
“The extra time doesn’t make me feel any less tired,” said Schenk. “Sometimes I miss [the alarm] the second time.”
So, why hit snooze anyways? Schenk blames it on the want for more sleep.
“When I wake up, I don’t feel like I have gotten enough sleep, and I want more,” said Schenk.
Senior Matthew Spinazze has a similar experience.
“[I hit snooze] because I’m extremely tired and I just progressively decide that more things are less important than nine extra minutes [of sleep],” said Spinazze.
While he doesn’t see hitting snooze as a bad habit, Spinazze does agree that it is an indicator that his sleep schedule might not be the best.
“It implies that my sleep schedule is bad… which is a bad habit,” said Spinazze.
Senior MacKenzie Sanders disagrees with Spinazze. While she turns off the alarm rather than hit snooze, Sanders said the act of ignoring her alarm is a bad habit for herself.
“I would love to be able to just wake up,” said Sanders.
However, Sanders said she does find the extra minutes helpful on occasion.
“By hitting snooze, I am able to get a few extra snoozes,” said Sanders.
Looking for ways to wake up easier and avoid hitting snooze? Here are some tips.
- Put your alarm on the other side of the room. This will force you to stand up to turn it off rather than roll over and smack it to silence.
- Brush your teeth when you first wake up. You’re less likely to be drawn back to bed.
- Eat some breakfast or drink cold water.
- Do some light stretches and try to get your blood flowing.
Graphic by Morgan Jones.
The Avon Echo 