Wakr is an alarm app with no snooze button, so we have an obvious interest in telling you snoozing is bad. The research does not quite say that, and you deserve the accurate version. This page summarises what two peer-reviewed studies found and where their limits are.
The short answer
For people who snooze regularly and fall back asleep easily, a 2023 laboratory study found that 30 minutes of snoozing did not make them groggier and slightly improved some cognitive tests right after waking. A 2022 study of 450 working adults found that snoozers did not sleep less or report feeling sleepier than non-snoozers.
That does not mean snoozing is good for everyone. Neither study looked at people who snooze because they are short of sleep, and both found differences in who snoozes and how they sleep. If you feel worse after snoozing, the snooze may not be the cause. The night before usually is.
What the 2023 Stockholm study found
Researchers Tina Sundelin, Shane Landry, and John Axelsson published their work in the Journal of Sleep Research in 2023. It had two parts.
A survey of 1,732 people. Snoozing was common, especially among younger adults and evening types. The most common reason people gave was feeling too tired to get up when the alarm first went off.
A sleep-lab study of 31 regular snoozers. Each spent one morning allowed 30 minutes of snoozing and another woken abruptly. During the 30-minute snooze period they still slept for more than 20 minutes. The researchers found no clear effect of snoozing on the stress hormone cortisol, on morning sleepiness, on mood, or on the structure of the night’s sleep. On three of four cognitive tests, participants did slightly better at their final wake-up after snoozing, and they were less likely to be woken from deep sleep.
The lead author was careful about who this applies to. The lab study included only habitual snoozers who fall back asleep easily. As Sundelin put it, “Snoozing is most likely not for everyone.”
What the 2022 Notre Dame study found
Stephen Mattingly and colleagues published a study in the journal Sleep in 2022 following 450 adults in full-time, salaried jobs, using surveys and wearable devices that tracked sleep, heart rate, and steps.
57 percent were habitual snoozers. Women, younger people, evening types, and people with more disturbed sleep were more likely to snooze. Snoozers had a higher resting heart rate and lighter sleep in the period before waking. But they did not sleep less overall than non-snoozers, and they did not report feeling sleepy or napping more often.
This was an observational study. It shows what snoozers have in common, not that snoozing causes any of it. A higher resting heart rate, for example, could come from the same late schedules and disturbed sleep that make snoozing more likely.
So why does snoozing feel so bad?
The groggy, heavy feeling after waking has a name: sleep inertia. It is the transition from sleep to full alertness, and it happens whether or not you snooze. The Stockholm results even suggest a short snooze can soften it for some people, because they are less likely to be woken from deep sleep.
If you feel wrecked every morning regardless of snoozing, the more likely causes are simpler. You may not be getting enough sleep, or your wake time may be far earlier than your body clock would choose. Snoozing is often the symptom of that, not the cause.
When snoozing really is the problem
The practical case against snoozing is less about your brain than about your morning. It is worth changing if any of these sound familiar.
You are regularly late. If snoozing makes your wake time unpredictable, it costs you something every day, however rested you feel.
You set the alarm early just to snooze it. Thirty minutes of broken dozing is not the same as thirty minutes of unbroken sleep. If you need that time, setting the alarm for when you actually have to get up usually works better.
You do not remember snoozing. If you regularly find you have snoozed or switched off alarms you have no memory of, the problem is how easy dismissal is, not how tired you are.
You snooze well past the point you meant to. One planned snooze is a choice. Six unplanned ones are a habit that has taken over the decision.
For a step-by-step reset, read how to stop hitting snooze. If your iPhone snoozes when you meant to stop it, the iPhone alarm guide covers the settings.
Quick answers
Is snoozing bad for your heart? The 2022 study found snoozers had a higher resting heart rate on average, but it could not show that snoozing caused it.
How long is it safe to snooze? There is no research-backed limit. The 2023 lab study tested 30 minutes in habitual snoozers and found no harm, but that is one setup in one group of people.
Should I stop snoozing? If snoozing makes you late, eats into sleep you need, or happens without you noticing, yes. If you take one planned snooze and get up on time, the evidence does not say you must stop.
This is a summary, not medical advice.
Persistent excessive sleepiness, regularly sleeping through alarms, or feeling unrested despite enough time in bed can deserve a conversation with a qualified health professional. Wakr does not diagnose or treat sleep conditions.
Sources
- Is snoozing losing? Why intermittent morning alarms are used and how they affect sleep, cognition, cortisol, and mood, Sundelin, Landry & Axelsson, Journal of Sleep Research, 2023.
- You don’t lose if you snooze, Stockholm University, October 23, 2023.
- Snoozing: an examination of a common method of waking, Mattingly et al., Sleep, October 2022.
- Hitting the snooze button? You’re far from alone, study shows, ScienceDaily, University of Notre Dame, October 17, 2022.
The one-line version
For regular snoozers who fall back asleep easily, a short snooze does not seem to cause harm. The case for stopping is about reliability and being on time, not about snoozing damaging your sleep.
