Summary: Despite advice from sleep specialists, many people habitually use their alarm’s snooze function. A large international analysis of Sleep Cycle app data from more than 21,000 users found that snoozing occurred in 56% of recorded sleep sessions. On average, people spent about 11 minutes snoozing each morning, while heavy users delayed waking for roughly 20 minutes.
Snooze use was most frequent on workdays and varied by country, with the highest rates observed in the United States, Sweden, and Germany. Researchers caution that repeatedly hitting snooze fragments the final sleep stages—especially REM sleep—so the extra minutes often provide only light, unrefreshing sleep. The dataset also showed that people who slept five hours or less used the snooze function less often, likely because time constraints forced them to get up without delay.
Key Facts:
- Common Practice: Over half of recorded sleep sessions ended with use of the snooze alarm, with an average delay of about 11 minutes.
- Disrupts REM Sleep: Repeated snoozing interrupts the late-night rapid eye movement stages that are important for mental restoration.
- Geographic Differences: Highest snooze activity was reported in the U.S., Sweden, and Germany; lowest in countries such as Japan and Australia.
Source: Brigham and Women’s Health
Overview: Sleep experts generally advise against using the snooze feature, yet it remains widespread. Researchers at Mass General Brigham analyzed anonymized sleep-tracking data from the Sleep Cycle smartphone app to better understand how often and under what circumstances people use the snooze alarm.
The study reviewed more than 3 million nights of sleep from over 21,000 individuals worldwide. Across those sessions, 55.6% ended with a snooze alarm. Of the nights that included snoozing, the snooze button was pressed an average of 2.4 times and total snooze duration averaged 10.8 minutes. A notable subgroup—people who used snooze on more than 80% of recorded mornings—averaged about 20 minutes of snoozing per day and tended to have more irregular sleep schedules.
Snooze frequency showed clear patterns by day of week: it rose during the standard workweek (Monday–Friday) and fell on weekend mornings. The analysis also found sex differences, with women using snooze slightly more often than men. Sleep duration influenced behavior as well: long sleep sessions (more than nine hours) were more likely to end with snoozing than sessions in the recommended seven-to-nine-hour range or short sessions under seven hours. Individuals who went to bed earlier than usual used snooze less, whereas those who went to bed later than normal were more inclined to rely on snooze.
Lead author Rebecca Robbins, PhD, of the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, explained that the last hours of sleep are often rich in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Repeatedly interrupting these stages with short snooze intervals typically yields fragmented, lighter sleep rather than restorative rest. For better sleep hygiene and daytime performance, researchers recommend setting the alarm for the latest acceptable wake time and committing to getting up when that first alarm sounds.
Study Publication: Results are published in Scientific Reports.
Authorship: In addition to Rebecca Robbins, Mass General Brigham authors include Matthew D. Weaver, Stuart F. Quan, and Charles A. Czeisler. Additional collaborators include Daniel Sääf and Michael Gradisar.
Disclosures: Dr. Robbins reports personal fees from several hospitality and wearable companies and serves on multiple medical advisory boards. Funding: The research received in-kind contributions from Sleep Cycle, which also covered the publication fee.
About this sleep and neuroscience research news
Author: Cassandra Falone
Source: Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Contact: Cassandra Falone – Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access. “Quantifying snooze behavior in a global population of smartphone users” by Rebecca Robbins et al., published in Scientific Reports.
Abstract
Quantifying snooze behavior in a global population of smartphone users
Snooze alarm use is a common but understudied behavior. This study characterizes its prevalence and features using more than three million nights of sleep data from users of a sleep-monitoring smartphone application. More than half (55.6%) of recorded sleep sessions ended with a snooze alarm. On nights with snoozing, users pressed the snooze button an average of 2.4 times and spent an average of 10.8 minutes snoozing. Women used snooze more frequently than men. Long sleep sessions (over nine hours) were more likely to conclude with snooze use than sessions in the recommended seven-to-nine-hour range or short sessions under seven hours. Bedtime timing also mattered: earlier bedtimes correlated with less snooze use, while later-than-usual bedtimes correlated with more. Further research is needed to determine how snooze behavior affects daytime functioning and performance.