The snooze button on alarm clocks allows users to reset the alarm for a limited amount of time, but it may not be beneficial for sleep. The 9-minute cycle is believed to be based on previous designs and studies showing most sleepers want an extra 5-10 minutes. However, using the snooze button repeatedly may increase sleep debt and prevent reaching a satisfactory REM cycle. Some experts suggest avoiding it altogether and setting the alarm for a later time instead.
For many of us, there is the time we should wake up and the time we actually wake up. The device that makes all this extra sleep time possible is called the snooze button. This button essentially resets an alarm for a limited amount of time, allowing the user just enough time to fall back asleep before reality strikes again. While a snooze button can go on for multiple cycles, the alarm clock wins out in the end. Some modern alarm clocks also have “sleep” and “nap” buttons.
There are a number of theories about a snooze button’s 9-minute cycle. Some believe that it takes about ten minutes for the average person to reach what is known as stage 1 sleep, essentially a rapid drowsiness. In fact, the first alarm clock with a snooze button, introduced in the 1950s by General Electric, offered a five- or ten-minute snooze option. It wasn’t until LED alarm clocks became popular in the late 1960s that a 9-minute cycle became common.
Another theory about the snooze button cycle is that engineers looked at previous alarm clock designs and decided that 9 minutes was a good enough standard to follow. Studies in volunteers purportedly indicated that most sleepers wanted an extra five to ten minutes of sleep, so anything under ten minutes should be acceptable. It’s not unusual for heavy sleepers to press the button multiple times anyway, so they’d actually get nearly half an hour of additional sleep.
There are those who suggest that the snooze button is actually worse for sleepers than waking up to an alarm or not using it at all. The additional sleep time provided is not sufficient for the sleeper to achieve a satisfactory Stage 5 or REM sleep cycle. Instead, a sleeper nearly reaches the lightest Phase 1 cycle before the alarm sounds again. If this cycle is repeated multiple times, the sleeper may actually increase his or her sleep debt level. Some sleep experts suggest using the snooze button very sparingly, if at all. It might be best to set your alarm for a later time and spend the extra time taking an invigorating shower.
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