There is a certain consensus among experts that delaying our alarm clocks for five minutes is not a guarantee of a better rest. However, there is still much that we do not know about the real effects of this practice. What we do know is that it is a widespread practice among humans.
The “five more minutes” problem.
Sleeping more is usually good, but sleep is a more complex biological process than it seems (not surprising if we consider that the organ responsible for it is the brain). Sleep is not a dichotomous state, we are not asleep or awake, but during our rest we go through several phases.
The sleep cycle, during which we complete the series of four phases, a REM phase (rapid eye movement) and three additional phases, each deeper. Cycles can vary throughout our sleep in duration and intensity, and also differ from person to person.
Cycle lengths vary. between 70 and 120 minutes, and the first cycle of the night, for example, is usually shorter and deeper. The problem with delaying the alarm is that, although we can fall asleep, we will not have time to reach the deepest phases of sleep, much less complete an entire cycle.
Symptom rather than cause.
For some experts, the problem does not lie in the act of delaying the alarm to stay in bed a little longer, but in the sleep problems that we carry, which make it harder for us to get up in the morning.
That’s how you think Steven Bender, professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Texas A&M University: “For many, [atrasar la alarma] it may be a sign of a significant problem with sleep. Poor sleep has been associated with a number of health disorders, including high blood pressure, memory problems, and even weight control.”
The profile of the lazybones.
a new studio, published in SLEEP magazine, has delved a little deeper into the issue, drawing a profile of people with a tendency to delay their alarm clocks in the morning. Thanks to smart watches, they analyzed the sleeping habits of 450 participants, to discover that more than half (57% of these) tended to slack off after the first alarm.
The research team also found that among the participants, women, younger people and “night owls” were the ones most likely to delay their alarm clocks. This habit also appeared to be correlated with other factors, such as more sleep interruptions, more sleep interruptions, and fewer daily steps taken. Interestingly, the “sluggards” did not sleep less, feel more sleepy, or be more prone to Naps.
The authors conclude that delaying wake-up calls is a common behavior, and that it is influenced by demographic and behavioral characteristics. However, they had to admit that there were few conclusions to be drawn regarding the effects of the act of delaying the alarms on the quality of our sleep.
Why are you dawdling?
One of the limitations of this study is that it does not allow us to know if there are direct causal relationships between the variables and, if so, what their direction is. For example, it is impossible to know if the fragmented sleep associated with delaying the alarm clocks is produced precisely because of this or if it is that we tend to delay the alarm clocks because we sleep in a fragmented way and therefore badly.
Among the questions that were included in the study was one referring to the motivation of those who delayed their alarm clocks. The usual answers fall within the expected: “I can’t get out of bed after the first alarm” or “because I’m comfortable in my bed”.
However, the study team pointed to the fact that a third of Americans did not sleep well as the most likely reason.
Find out more about sleep.
The researchers who carried out this study draw attention not to what we know about this practice, but to the many unknowns that still remain to be cleared up. so indicates Stephen Mattingly, one of the authors of the latest study.
Determining, for example, the cause-effect relationships between the observed correlations is one of the questions that researchers will have to answer. The task is not easy. Each person’s sleep can vary significantly from person to person, whether for genetic reasons, our work schedule, our particular habits or a host of environmental circumstances.
If we add to this the fact that sleeping is an act that we perform unconsciously and that it is the brain we are talking about, the difficulty of the researchers’ work can be understood.
Sleep better.
Returning to what we do know for sure, the advice focuses on trying to sleep more and better, without relying on being able to delay our alarm in the morning. Spain is one of the countries that consumes the most sleeping medication, but there are techniques that can help us when our case does not reach the point of requiring it.
Keeping our environment controlled (in terms of temperature and light) is one of the keys. In relation to this, one of the most common tips is to avoid screens, even hours before trying to fall asleep. Trying to be regular (whenever possible) with our schedules can also help us control our circadian rhythms.
Substances like caffeine and alcohol can also affect our sleep cycles. The effect of caffeine is obvious, but in the case of alcohol we must bear in mind that, although it makes us sleepy, its effect on rest will not be positive, but rather it can induce a lighter and therefore less restful sleep.
Image | Miriam Alonso
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