Why We Hit the Snooze Button Every Morning

Should we hit pause on hitting the snooze button?

For many of us, an alarm is an absolute necessity – allowing us to wake up on time, ready to start the day and ensure we’re on time for commitments like college, jobs, childcare and more. Whether it’s our phone, a smart home device or a traditional alarm clock, most of us have become accustomed to setting an alarm.

But what about the snooze button? With 49% of us hitting the snooze button between one and five times every morning, according to the Panda 2025 Sleep Report, clearly it’s time to talk about it.

The science behind the snooze button

Ever wondered what actually happens to our brains when we hit that snooze button? Our alarm tends to jolt us out of late-stage, lighter sleep, and if we drift back off after snoozing it we’re not actually falling straight into the same sleep stage we woke up from. Our brains are happily ready to start a new sleep cycle, only to get disrupted again five or ten minutes later. When your alarm goes off for a second time, you’re being pulled away from early-stage sleep which is even more jarring than your initial alarm.

This can lead to what we call sleep inertia, that groggy feeling we often experience after waking up mid sleep-cycle – disoriented, irritable, lacking motivation. This is because our brains are confused, which makes it harder to transition into a state of alertness.

Why do we hit the snooze button?

There are plenty of reasons as to why we might be keen to press pause on our morning routine before it’s even begun. Let’s have a quick look at some of them before we go into more detail…

Our prefrontal cortex isn’t at full speed yet
Procrastination and avoiding wakefulness
Putting off our daily obligations
Anxiety around work, money, relationships and more
Tiredness due to late nights or poor sleep hygiene
Wanting more perceived ‘me time’

Dr Ritz, one of our sleep experts here at Panda, says that at this time “the prefrontal cortex – responsible for motivation, planning, and self-control – hasn’t fully ‘come online,’ which makes it harder to act on good intentions, like getting out of bed.” We’re often craving a return to that blissful sleepy state, and the snooze button feels like a pathway to that.

For a lot of people, snoozing the alarm isn’t just about going back to sleep; it can often be about avoiding wakefulness (and everything that goes with it) for a few more minutes. Our alarm – that beeping, buzzing or trilling sound – signals the start of daily obligations like work, education, caregiving, housework and more. Sometimes, we want to put that off for a little while, reclaiming a little bit of ‘me time’ before facing external demands.

Another reason for snoozing your alarm might be morning anxiety. Waking up in the morning can also kick off anxious thoughts, such as worrying about money or stressing about relationship issues and job-related pressures. Hitting snooze allows us to delay these thoughts.

Tiredness, of course, is another reason why we might stop ourselves from getting out of bed when the alarm first goes off – poor sleep hygiene and late nights might lead us to think that hitting snooze is the way forward. But of course, we’re only disrupting our sleep cycle further.

What are the consequences of snoozing our alarm?

Of course, in life, actions have consequences – so let’s dig a little deeper into the negative impact this little habit can have…

Anecdotal consequences from the Panda Sleep Report 2025

When we asked our 2025 Sleep Report respondents about their alarm-snoozing habits, we also wanted to know what (if any) consequences this has in reality. The main downside mentioned was rushing to get ready – and who doesn’t know the feeling of only having a short window of time to make sure you’re clean, dressed, fed and ready to face the day?

Another common consequence we found was feeling stressed before the day starts. 27.4% of our respondents mentioned this, and it’s clear to see that this is a negative impact of hitting snooze. Further repercussions included a lack of ‘me time’ in the morning, not having time to eat breakfast (the most important meal of the day!) and even being late for work, missing classes or lectures, or making children late for school.

Only 13.8% of serial alarm-snoozers reported no consequences – or at least, no obvious ones that they could name. We’ve listed the above, and some additional, consequences of snoozing your alarm below…

Rushing to get ready
Feeling stressed before the day starts
A lack of ‘me time’ in the morning
Being late for work
Missing classes or lectures
Making children late for school
No time for breakfast
Ruining your mood for the day
Getting stuck in traffic
Having to drive instead of getting public transport
Annoying your partner/family/housemates

Psychological consequences of snoozing your alarm

Research suggests that the manner in which we start something influences the way in which it continues – in this instance, if we start our day with motivation, it should continue to be a positive day. This is backed up by research from Hanan Steingart, who explored the concept of ‘outcome primacy’, which shows that the result of an initial attempt can bias future expectations and actions.

By snoozing your alarm, you’re starting the day with avoidance instead of a ‘get up and go’ mindset. Procrastinating getting up leads to putting off other tasks, and this habit snowballs throughout the day.

Other psychological consequences of snoozing your alarm in the morning include the sleep inertia we referenced earlier as well as circadian rhythm disruption, extended sleepiness and increased feelings of stress.

Physical consequences of snoozing alarms

Finally, there are some physical consequences to consider. By repeatedly being shocked awake by our alarm, we are actually increasing cardiovascular strain. These mini ‘stress events’ build over time, and irregular or disrupted sleep patterns can actually increase our risk of heart disease.

A psychologist’s advice on how to stop snoozing your alarm

We asked Dr Ritz, psychologist and Panda sleep expert, how people can break the snooze habit. Here’s what she had to say…

Becoming a morning person is about building a routine that your nervous system doesn’t dread.

Focus on the reward, not the discipline. Instead of framing mornings as something to push through, connect them to something you look forward to – a stretch, a walk, a warm drink, or a quiet moment before the house wakes up. This taps into dopamine, our brain’s reward chemical, which helps reinforce the habit.
Get natural light within 30 minutes of waking. Sunlight tells your brain it’s time to be alert. It resets your circadian rhythm and suppresses the production of melatonin. Even a few minutes outside or by a window can make a measurable difference in mood and energy.
Delay phone use. Looking at your phone first thing jolts your brain into a reactive state. Cortisol (our stress hormone) spikes, and attention is hijacked by notifications. Give yourself the first 30 minutes screen-free – it’s a gentle way to preserve cognitive clarity.
Say an affirmation or intention out loud. This is behavioural priming. Saying something like “Today, I choose calm over chaos” or “I’m getting up now because my future self will thank me” helps anchor identity and action. The brain responds well to clear cues, especially when they’re repeated consistently.

Should you be hitting the snooze button?

In conclusion, it’s clear to see that hitting snooze on your morning alarm might actually be doing more harm than good. A few extra minutes in bed might seem like a dream, but is it worth the lack of time to get yourself ready for the day, as well as the psychological and physical consequences? Whatever your reason is for pressing the snooze button, try to get out of this habit and start each day as you mean to go on!