Break the habit
How to stop hitting snooze
The fight is lost the night before. Win it there.
Why it sticks
The first alarm usually goes off during deep or dream sleep, and the grogginess that comes with it, called sleep inertia, makes staying in bed feel like the only option. Snooze gives you a few more minutes, but they are broken, light sleep that makes the final wake-up harder. The payoff is instant comfort. The cause is usually too little sleep or a wake time that changes every day.
How to stop hitting snooze
Put the alarm across the room
If you have to stand up to turn it off, you are already out of bed. A cheap alarm clock on the other side of the room works better than a phone on the bedside table.
Set the time you actually get up
If you set the alarm for 6:30 and snooze until 7, set it for 7. You get thirty minutes of unbroken sleep instead of three broken bits.
Keep the same wake time every day
Get up at the same time on weekends too, within half an hour. A regular wake time makes your body start waking up before the alarm.
Go to bed earlier
Snooze is often a symptom of not enough sleep. Go to bed twenty minutes earlier for a week and see if mornings change.
Get light immediately
Open the curtains or turn on bright lights as soon as you get up. Light is the strongest signal to your body that the day has started.
Have a reason to get up
Plan something small you enjoy for the first ten minutes: a good coffee, a podcast, a short walk. It gives the alarm something to compete with.
What to track instead
A row that only records the habit not happening gets a tick on the days you were never tempted, and tells you nothing on the day it mattered. Give the row to the replacement:
- Up on the first alarm
- Same wake time every day
- Curtains open in five minutes
- In bed by 11
Print a tracker with these 4 habits or open them in a spreadsheet.
Your first week
- Day 1. Move the alarm across the room.
- Day 2. Set it for the time you actually need to get up.
- Day 3. Go to bed twenty minutes earlier tonight.
- Day 4. Open the curtains as soon as you stand up.
- Day 5. Plan your first ten minutes the night before.
- Day 6. Keep the same wake time on Saturday.
- Day 7. Count how many mornings you got up on the first alarm.
How to stop hitting snooze
Why is hitting snooze bad?
The extra minutes are light, broken sleep, and they can leave you feeling groggier than getting up the first time. It also makes your body less sure when to wake.
How do I wake up without snoozing?
Put the alarm out of reach, keep a regular wake time, get light straight away and get enough sleep. Each one helps, and together they make the first alarm easy.
Why am I so tired in the morning even after sleeping?
Sleep inertia is normal for up to half an hour. If you are tired all day despite enough sleep, it is worth talking to a GP, as sleep problems or other conditions can be the cause.
Other habits to break
- How to stop staying up lateIf the evening is the only time that feels like yours, you will keep stretching it.
- How to stop being lateYou are not bad at time. You are guessing, and guessing short.
- How to stop being lazyYou are rarely lazy. You are usually staring at a task with no obvious first step.
- All the habits65 habits to break or build, each with a first week laid out.
- 70 bad habits, each with a swapThe full list, grouped by where they show up in your day, with a printable for each group.
Track the swap, not the slip
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