Does Hitting Snooze Help?What a Small Laboratory Study Tested

If you already press snooze, a headline saying it helps may sound like permission to stop questioning the habit. Read the comparison behind that headline before using it to plan tomorrow morning.

What did the study compare?

A study first published in October 2023 compared two laboratory mornings in 31 habitual snoozers. They either snoozed during the final 30 minutes or slept through that period. The final wake time was the same.¹

Look for those details whenever a headline turns a study into advice: who took part, what they did and what the comparison involved.

Did the tests give a clear answer?

Some immediate cognitive-test results favored snoozing, but the authors’ Bayesian analyses showed uncertainty for most cognitive effects. These exploratory tests were not adjusted for multiple comparisons. Cognitive analyses included fewer than 31 participants after data exclusions.¹

An evidence check should keep the uncertainty beside the result. Avoid translating a favorable test finding into a promise for your own morning.

Did people feel less sleepy?

There was no clear advantage in self-rated morning sleepiness or mood. A difference on a laboratory task does not establish that snoozing makes someone feel more awake.¹

Keep the question you care about specific. “Will I feel more awake?” needs its own answer rather than being folded into a headline about performance.

What can you take from it?

Participants were habitual snoozers, and the study excluded people with various sleep or health concerns. It tested one snooze duration in a laboratory. Its findings do not establish a general alarm-setting rule, long-term benefits or fitness to drive or work.¹

This article reviews that individual study. If mornings are troubling you, describe what happens and bring your questions to your clinician rather than treating this paper as a personalized plan.

Did I Do That in My Sleep? includes a 14-Night Lights-Out Record and a Visit Brief. Use them to organize your own observations and appointment questions. See the book.