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Are you someone that continuously tries but fails to beat the snooze button?
The majority of us can say that we have fallen into the snooze trap, and we all know that it is a really hard habit to break.
That is why in this article, we are going to outline the tactics, tips, and mindsets so that you can wake up every morning feeling refreshed.
Also, more importantly, to beat the snooze button once and for all and never hit it again!
Also, for all Youtube lovers out there, check out our video about How to Beat the Snooze Button down below!
The Psychology of Snoozing 101
Snoozing won’t make you more rested
One of the reasons that people snooze is that there is a theory that snoozing will make you feel more rested. Who doesn’t want to avoid the mental grogginess that arises when waking up in the morning?
Well, research suggests that this isn’t the case, and a key thing to understand is that snoozing actually won’t make you any more rested. A term called sleep inertia will help us explain why.
As explained by Silentnight, sleep inertia is the grogginess that we experience when just waking up, and if relatively rested will only last around 15-30 minutes.
According to research done by Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, these 15-30 minutes can turn into 2-4 hours if we wake up during deep sleep or when just entering into a new sleep cycle.
What pressing the snooze button does is it will trick your body and mind into thinking that it is going to another sleep cycle.
This in turn will increase the amount of sleep inertia, actually making you more tired than if you had just woken up when you should have.
You snooze, you lose
One aspect that is also least as important to bring up is that by snoozing, you will have started the day with a failure.
What I mean by this is that your alarm clock is the first thing that you have to beat, the very first obstacle you have to overcome.
So what does snoozing do to you? Basically, what snoozing does to you is that you will have started with a failure, and what does that do to your day and your self-respect?
What you are subconsciously saying to yourself when snoozing is that you have failed.
I don’t know about you but I certainly don’t want to carry a feeling like that with me for the rest of the day!
Some may not agree on this point, but if you are serious about stopping the habit of snoozing, I suggest you incorporate the same belief. Remember this mantra to help you succeed; You snooze, you lose.
Now that you know a bit about the psychology and effects of snoozing, let’s go over to how you can help yourself win over the snooze button even before the morning comes.
Create a healthy lifestyle
One of the core reasons that people snooze is that they have set themselves up for failure even before the morning comes.
Through being on the phone late in the evening, eating late, staying up too late, and also not getting quality sleep, people wake up tired and not rested.
This in turn increases sleep inertia and is not the best way to start the day.
Here a few practical tips to help you get a good night’s sleep.
- No technology after 8 pm (Phone, computer, tablet, etc)
- Don’t eat anything after 8 pm
- Journal right before bed (To help get your thoughts on paper)
- Read a fiction book before bed (Non-fiction stimulates productive thinking, which can make it harder to fall asleep)
- Exercise daily, at least 30 minutes per day
- Wake up the same time every day
- Eat wholesome foods
- Sleep in a cool temperature room
Discipline
We cannot write about not hitting the snooze button without talking a bit about discipline.
Discipline can be expressed through the following quote by Abraham Lincoln: “Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most.” This quote summarises the power of discipline in one single sentence.
By strengthening your discipline, you automatically strengthen your self-respect. This will generate wonders for your self-esteem and self-worth.
By strengthening yourself, you strengthen the relationship with yourself, which is by the way probably the most important relationship you will ever have.
So how do you strengthen your discipline? And what tactics can you take to ensure the highest probability of success in your journey to not hitting the snooze button?
Below is my four-step process to make sure I NEVER hit the snooze button, this process has worked for me for many years, and I’m sure it will work for you as well. We’ll begin the hardest part, getting out of bed.
5 Steps to Beat the Snooze Button
1. Keep your alarm clock a distance away
This tactic is probably one of the key ways to ensure you stop hitting the snooze button.
By having your phone or your alarm clock (which we recommend instead of a phone) more than an arm-length distance away from you, you have to get out of bed to push it off. The most agitating and hardest part of getting up in the morning has been accomplished.
The trick now is to make sure you don’t get back into bed, which can be a very alluring thing to do. Therein we go to step number two, which is:
2. Go directly to the bathroom after pushing off the alarm button (or leave your bedroom and change space)
This tactic works wonders. If you go to the bathroom directly after you have pushed off the alarm button, you are no longer in your bedroom, and you are one step closer to have decided to start the day.
Why this is game-changing is that after you have done this a couple of times, your brain and body will start priming itself that directly after you get out of bed, you have to go to the bathroom for your first business of the day.
When this happens, you no longer need to decide, and an automatic habit has been conditioned to make you succeed, voila!
If you don’t need to go to the bathroom, you can always just go to another room so that you change space and are no longer in your bedroom. The key point is to leave your bedroom so that you condition your body and mind that you are starting the day.
Below are some more tactics you can take to help you wake up in the morning.
Some more tactics to help you WAKE UP
- Make a cup of coffee/tea
- Do 20 pushups or a similar short high-intensity exercise
- Take a cold shower (one of the best ways to wake up)
3. Implement a firm mindset
Even after you have completed these steps, sometimes we have nights where we haven’t had enough and/or good quality sleep. Those mornings it feels like all you want to do is to go back to sleep and get a few more moments of rest.
One mantra or mindset to decide for yourself beforehand to counteract this feeling is:
HOWEVER TIRED I AM, I AM GOING TO START THE DAY.
By having this mindset, you don’t have to let your weaker self make the decision when you are tired and fatigued during the morning.
Besides, if you are tired, you can always take a power nap later in the day.
4. Have something fun to look forward to
Remember as a kid on the morning of your birthday, you woke up in the crack of dawn out of sheer excitement without an alarm clock?
Maybe you also had a few adventures where you absolutely couldn’t wait until the next day.
For example, if you were going to a theme park, Disneyland, a football game, or anything that you were just so excited about, you almost automatically jolted out of bed without any effort or any tiredness.
Why not apply the same excitement and energy to your mornings by planning your favorite activity first thing in the morning?
If you say that you don’t have time before studies or work to do this, why not try to wake up earlier? Check out our article “How to wake up early” to find inspiration to wake up early and start your day your way.
By having an activity you are so much looking forward to, you will find it much easier to get out of bed and start your day.
Some examples of activities to look forward to:
- Morning walk/run/hike
- Listen to your favorite podcast
- Make a nice breakfast and watch your favorite series
- Play some good music
Personally, an activity that gives me so much excitement for the day is having an awesome morning routine where I can exercise, read interesting books, pray and enjoy the peacefulness and quiet that the morning brings.
5. Reward yourself for not hitting the snooze button
Without a reward, there is very little chance of succeeding with not hitting the snooze button.
Make sure to have a reward set up for yourself so that you implement a positive experience and an automatic habit of not hitting the snooze button.
Personally, there is nothing so rewarding for me as a cup of coffee in the morning. Other rewards you could have for yourself could be:
- Make yourself an awesome breakfast
- Watch 30 minutes of your favorite series
- Play 30 minutes of your favorite video game
Some mindsets to repeat to yourself to help you on your journey:
- Snoozing won’t make me more rested
- If I snooze, I’m giving up my alone time
- If I snooze, I lose
- I will feel way more tired if I press the snooze button
Last note…
It is my sincere wish that you will find this article valuable and that it will help you to beat the snooze button.
Beating the snooze button is tough, but it is also one of the greatest victories when you can firmly say that you have beaten the snooze button so many times that it is automatic.
If you have found this article helpful and you would like to help others, please share this article with a few friends so that they too may find the inspiration and motivation to beat the snooze button.
We would love to hear from you. Do you beat the snooze button? What tactics help you to wake up and feel excitement for the day?
Stay happy and stay healthy!
Gustav
Gustav
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