Why grab your alarm is bad for your health – and how to stop

If your alarm clock feels more like a suggestion than a waking phone call, you are not alone.

A recent study found that more than half of adults are ordinary snoozers, hitting the button on average 2.5 times to steal in an additional 11 minutes of sleep.

But that extra closed eye does more than just cut into your morning routine or make you late for work.

The post spoke to Dr. Dennis Auckley, director of the Metrohaalth Sleep Medicine Center, for how snoozing your alarm affects your health – and the best strategies to finally disrupt the habit for good.

The alarming truth for snoozing

“The sleeping community does not protect for some reason for some reason,” Auckley said.

First: Waking up several times will interrupt and chop your sleep.

“It means you will cycling ahead and forth between sleep in general non -non -leaders and being awake,” Auckley said.

“This is not soothing, and potentially means that you can miss in the best, deeper consolidated stages of sleep,” he added.

Second: can start your day on the wrong foot.

â € œ Repeated elections by the alarm can lead to undisturbed feeling and quarrel when you finally get out of bed, â € Auckley said.

Third: It can strengthen bad sleep habits.

â € œa more at times, even worse it can be, Auckley said.

Fourth: You may not fix the problem by making your alarm cut off.

“While the most common reason for this is a simple lack of adequate sleep time, it can also be a sign of other sleep disorders that may need evaluation and treatment,” Auckley said.

It is estimated that between 50 and 70 million Americans have sleep disorders, and 1 in 3 US adults do not regularly receive the recommended amount of continuous sleep they need to protect their health, according to the National Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood.

The unfavorable effects of your alarm snoosing are not well studied, noted auckley. However, he said research shows that inappropriate sleep is regularly associated with a wide range of negative health effects.

â € Presence of feeling rested, vigilant and in your best case, a steady lack of adequate sleep can increase the risk of weight gain, cardiovascular disorders, metabolic disorders and even dementia, – he said.

How to break the sleeping cycle of sleep

First things first, you need to make sure you will get enough sleep to feel really rested. For most people, it means between 7 and 8 hours a night – though it can change.

“You need to determine what your individual sleeping needs are, and then make that advantage to get that amount of sleep on a regular basis,” Auckley said.

Next, climb to a steady sleep schedule.

â € œKnowing When your inner watch is decided that you will wake up and then adhere to this time of set awakening is the most important, â € Auckley explained. â € œDing this will make it much easier to get up when the alarm is turned off first. “

To avoid delays in falling asleep, he recommends turning off your phone, computer, tablet or television at least one hour before bedtime.

The blue light emitted by electronic screens can grab with melatonin, a hormone that regulates your sleep waking cycle. This can make it harder to leave and can adversely affect the quality of your sleep overnight.

Your sleeping environment also matters. Auckley says your bedroom should be fresh, smooth, dark and comfortable.

When breakfast comes, try resisting the request to hit snouse – get out of bed as soon as your alarm sounds.

“For some individuals, having the alarm some distance away from the bed, so they have to get out of bed to turn it off, can be useful,” Auckley said.

You can also consider using a sunrise alarm clock, which gradually shines the room before the alarm turns off. This, Auckley explained, makes wakes less annoying.

If an alarm hour of the sun is not for you, try to get light exposure as soon as possible after waking.

Light € Natural light is the best, but any bright light can help, â € auckley said. â € œ This keeps your inner clock in sync and will improve readiness.â €

Auckley also recommends creating a positive breakfast ritual with activities you expect forward, such as enjoying a vapor coffee cup, blading a good morning, taking a relaxing shower, or catching sports or news results.

And remember: breaking a habit takes time. Auckley said it is best to make these changes slowly and in stages.

If you are still fighting despite your best efforts, he recommends talking to your doctor and asking about a sleeping specialist who can appreciate you for possible sleep disorders.

â € to diagnose, all sleep disorders can be improved or treated, and this can lead to better sleep, ”he said.