On Abandoning the Snooze Button
Sleep is valuable to me. When I sleep less than seven hours, I’m unhappy, but when I get my eight hours I’m automatically a joyful person. I never sleep with my phone on, in fact I try to end the human-device-relationship as early in the evening as possible. I’ve been quite content because for a few years now I began waking up to an actual alarm clock, like in the old days, and thus didn’t have the need to assign my phone with any alarm apps and take it into the bedroom.
Except, for the past few weeks, there’s been a morning nuisance that has disturbed my contentment: the snooze button. A button like a sin that allows temporary reveling, which later turns into regret. I noticed that whenever I pressed that button to console myself with five more minutes of meaningless sleep, my day would be lethargic and downcast. And whenever I moved the alarm clock to a place that forced me to get up to turn it off (or when I didn’t press the snooze button) my whole day would be dynamic and joyous. Meaning, the snooze button and I had to call it quits.
I also found out that there is scientific reasoning behind this observation I made. When we begin to awaken on our own, our bodies balance their temperature, which eases us out of sleep. However, when we awaken with an alarm we sabotage this natural process. If we also press the snooze button, we tell our bodies that there’s no need to get up, and our ability to start the day by feeling physically and mentally ready is rendered nearly impossible. The body believes it’s able to return to deep sleep and the warm bed is, of course, extremely inviting. And so the brain relinquishes to all these desires and presses that rescue button. Again and again. The more we postpone the more our bodies and minds become befuddled. “Are we getting up or are we going back to sleep?” And this disarray affects our whole day. That’s why I say remove that snooze button from your life as soon as you can. Don’t take on burdens with heavy consequences for short-lived pleasures.
Sleep well.
Begüm
P.S: An honorable mention to all those who don’t even need an alarm clock because they awaken with their ‘internal clocks.’
