3 Reasons To Ditch The Snooze Button | The Odyssey Online
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3 Reasons To Ditch The Snooze Button

It's like jet lag, but for your life.

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3 Reasons To Ditch The Snooze Button
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It seems that no matter how much information is out there on the negative effects of the snooze button, everybody loves hitting it and realizing you have precious time to go back to sleep. For college students especially, nothing feels so sweet than a few more minutes of your cozy bed before facing the cruel world of work and classes. These few peaceful moments are actually terrible for you, whether you accept it or not. Your mind and soul may be happy to receive the extra shut-eye, but here's how your body is feeling about your bad decisions.

1. The more you snooze, the more confusing it is for your body and brain.

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Ever heard of Melatonin? It's one of the chemicals produced by the pineal gland in your body to regulate sleep and wakefulness. When your body gets ready to wake up in the morning, your melatonin levels drop and in turn, your active hormones like Cortisol start to rise, which help out with mental awareness and a healthy metabolism. When you hit the snooze button, your body isn't quite sure when it should start the hormone transition and will feel stuck between what it wants to do and what you're forcing it to do.

Your body's just looking out for you—like when a friend tells you to drink some water after you think four tequila shots is a good decision.

It's in the process of waking where the control of energy lies. In the morning when the alarm goes off, your brain is most likely engaged in REM sleep, which is the deepest and most powerful sleep. In this phase is where you'll usually have your most vivid and intense dreams as well as the most brain activity.

This deep REM sleep is in your control and completed by your waking up to either turn off the alarm off or hit the snooze button. Those who choose to hit the snooze button and fall back to sleep again will begin a new sleep cycle, but this time in non-REM sleep, but rather light sleep in either Sleep Stages 1 or 2. When the alarm goes off again, those that have chosen to snooze can feel the tired effects of waking up mid-sleep-cycle, and will not feel as rested.

2. A healthy sleep schedule can help you manage your day better.

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Do you think Olympic sprinters hit the snooze button? Of course not. They also do not eat a lot of donuts. And while these two may seem mutually exclusive, not hitting the snooze button is a lot easier than giving up donuts. In other words, you can prepare your mind for a schedule like Olympic athletes do: by listening to the needs of your body.

A healthy sleep schedule can promote overall happiness, a healthy weight, and more drive to get things done in your day. This discipline in your sleep schedule can be a small change with a lasting impact on your daily outlook.

Eventually, the consistency in your routine may help you to feel naturally sleepy at the end of your day and you will be inclined to go to bed when your body says so. If you do this enough, you'll even wake up without the necessity of an alarm. Then you can tell people you have a superpower.

3. If you don't sleep alone, it's annoying as f*ck.

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If you've ever shared a dorm room with someone, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Almost nothing in life is more painful than hearing someone wake up earlier than you, only to hit the snooze button five times over the next forty-five minutes. It forces you to either wake up way earlier than them or live with the trauma of hearing the iPhone ringtone of three little dots in intervals every morning until you eventually die. In hell, this is the sound you hear on a constant loop, and Guy Fieri makes you a breakfast every morning but gives you no utensils, so you have to look him in the eye while you try to eat eggs benedict with your fingers...like the savage you are.


PSA: JUST GET UP AT A LATER TIME.


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If any of this seems too difficult, I challenge you to try just one day getting up when your alarm says so. You'll wake up feeling accomplished, refreshed, and look forward more than ever to a rewarding nap later.

Or you could go ahead and keep playing sick mind games with your circadian rhythm.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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