It’s not rocket science, the most effective alarms are noisy, harsh, and annoying. They are foolproof because they trigger a “fear response” giving you a hint of morning terror before you even step a toe out of bed.
This half court buzzer doesn’t make you want to celebrate a victory, it often makes your heart rate and cortisol levels soar. Not to mention your fight or flight hormone, aka adrenaline, pump through your body just in case you want to sprint away from your daily responsibilities and work obligations.
So, what if you hit the snooze button... Then what?
You are about to add insult to injury because an extra 10-15 minutes is not long enough to sink back into the refreshing type of sleep you long for. The alarm sounds and you’re quite literally “off to the races” again.
Repeat surges of fear-fueled adrenaline (*repeat snooze button taps*) may eventually force you out of bed; however, over time this will put your mood on a downward spiral and impact your physical health too.
Studies show that years of stressful snooze button wakeups contribute to clogging of blood vessels and increase risk to heart problems. If you really need the extra snooze, allow yourself *at least 45 minutes* between alerts.
Tips To Beat Your Alarm:
- Leave your curtains open overnight: natural daylight as early as possibly allows sensors in the back of the eye to detect dawn through your eyelids. This primes your natural body clock to rise and shine in the AM.
- Set your thermostat: studies show that if you set your heat to come on 30 minutes before you’re supposed to wake up, it mimics the temperature change that correlates with the sun rising.
- Bedside lamp timers: find a lamp with a timer and a “daylight” bulb option; set it for 30 minutes before you’re supposed to wake up. This will jump-start a natural cortisol surge which will make waking up 10x easier.