How did you wake up to your alarm this morning? Did you hear the first ring, hit the “off” button, and hop out of bed feeling energized? Or did you groan, slap the “snooze” button, and return to your pillow for another seven minutes of peace?
Well, if you totally relate to the latter– don’t worry, because you are far from alone.
A new study conducted by the University of Notre Dame actually revealed that fifty-seven percent of participants are regular snoozers.
This finding and more were discovered following a survey of four hundred and fifty U.S. adults who are salaried and work full-time.
The research team recognized that while the act of snoozing is generally frowned upon among medical professionals, there is really quite little hard data on the habit.
So, they asked survey respondents to complete daily questionnaires as well as wear a device that measured heart rate and sleep duration.
And interestingly, the data revealed that women are fifty percent more likely to slam the snooze button than men.
On top of that, those who snooze on the regular also take fewer daily steps and suffer more disturbances while sleeping.
Still, it makes sense why so many U.S. adults are choosing to snooze. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), every one in three Americans is not getting enough sleep.
Drobot Dean – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purpose only, not the actual person
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“So many people are snoozing because so many people are chronically tired. If only one in three people are sleeping adequately, that means a lot of us are turning to other means to manage fatigue,” explained Stephen Mattingly, the study’s lead author.
It is also crucial to note how Mattingly believes that the study is only conservatively representative of the greater U.S. population. After all, the survey respondents included people who have been immersed in the workforce for years, hold advanced degrees and are known as white-collar workers. Yet, fifty-seven percent are still snoozing.
“Critically, these statistics are only representative of a small population that is likely to be in the best position with respect to sleep habits,” Mattingly began.
“We have no idea about various age groups such as teenagers, lower-income households, or any populations that are historically more sleep deprived than respondents of this study. So, the odds are this is probably a conservative estimate of the wider population.”
Other notable findings from the study included how those who do not snooze– and actually do not use an alarm at all to wake up in the morning– sleep longer and consume less caffeine throughout the day. On the flip side, those who do snooze are not prone to feeling tired more often than non-snoozers. This suggests that snoozing may have its own set of benefits when used at the right time and place.
To read the study’s complete findings, which have since been published in Sleep, visit the link here.
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