Snoozing: an examination of a common method of waking

Abstract

Study objectives: Snoozing was defined as using multiple alarms to accomplish waking, and considered as a method of sleep inertia reduction that utilizes the stress system. Surveys measured snoozing behavior including who, when, how, and why snoozing occurs. In addition, the physiological effects of snoozing on sleep were examined via wearable sleep staging and heart rate (HR) activity, both over a long time scale, and on the days that it occurs. We aimed to establish snoozing as a construct in need of additional study.

Methods: A novel survey examined snoozing prevalence, how snoozing was accomplished, and explored possible contributors and motivators of snoozing behavior in 450 participants. Trait- and day-level surveys were combined with wearable data to determine if snoozers sleep differently than nonsnoozers, and how snoozers and nonsnoozers differ in other areas, such as personality.

Results: 57% of participants snoozed. Being female, younger, having fewer steps, having lower conscientiousness, having more disturbed sleep, and being a more evening chronotype increased the likelihood of being a snoozer. Snoozers had elevated resting HR and showed lighter sleep before waking. Snoozers did not sleep less than nonsnoozers nor did they feel more sleepiness or nap more often.

Conclusions: Snoozing is a common behavior associated with changes in sleep physiology before waking, both in a trait- and state-dependent manner, and is influenced by demographic and behavioral traits. Additional research is needed, especially in detailing the physiology of snoozing, its impact on health, and its interactions with observational studies of sleep.

Keywords: heart rate; sleep; sleep staging; snooze; wearables.

Figure 1.

Heart rate across 10 months for snoozers vs. non-snoozers. Heart rate during the entire sleep period (right), and from the hour before wearable detected waking (right).

Figure 2.

Sleep staging concentrations across 7 days. Sleep staging during the whole night (left), and during the last hour (right). Proportion of mornings snoozed out of days responded. Sleep staging adds up to 100%.