Latest news with #grogginess
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Here's why you feel awful after going back to bed for that extra hour of sleep
If you've woken up way too early for no good reason, going back to bed for that extra hour of sleep may not be as beneficial as you'd hoped. Instead, you're better off just staying awake, because slipping back into sleep will leave you feeling groggy and agitated since you've disturbed your 90-minute sleep cycle. 'If you were to sleep till you woke up naturally, often, you'd be fine because you'd be in the natural cycle. But then, when you fall asleep and then your alarm wakes you up … you have a good chance of ending up awakening in a deeper sleep phase when you weren't meant to wake up,' Dr. Greg Mahr, a psychiatrist at Henry Ford Health, told The Independent. 'You feel really groggy because you haven't gone through the natural rhythm.' Changes in the brain are 'fairly clear,' he said, looking at recordings of brain activity. When you interrupt those deeper stages of sleep, it can take a while to recover, whereas, being woken up in other lighter stages of sleep does not yield the same results. This is true even if you technically get enough sleep. 'It's typically not listening to our body cycles and trying to override them because of our schedules and alarm clocks,' Mahr noted. Alarm clocks can play a major role in sleep health. Recent research has found that more than 50 percent of 3 million sleep sessions studied ended in a 'snooze.' People spent an average of 11 minutes between snooze alarms before waking and heavy snoozers averaged 20 minutes a day, according to Dr. Rebecca Robbins, a sleep scientist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. 'Unfortunately, the snooze alarm disrupts some of the most important stages of sleep. The hours just before waking are rich in rapid eye movement sleep. Hitting the snooze alarm will interrupt these critical stages of sleep and typically only offer you light sleep in between snooze alarms,' she explained. How many alarms you set can also be a red flag, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine Dr. Rachel Salas. 'If you're a 10-alarm person, that is a huge red flag. If you have to hit the snooze button and you're not waking up, that's a red flag that something may be going on while you're sleeping that you're not aware of,' she explained. 'You might have an undiagnosed, untreated sleep disorder.' People might not be able to control their variable work schedules or environmental conditions. But, can they hack the system? Can you sneak a little extra sleep in without feeling the effects? Salas says you can. 'Taking a nap before 3 p.m. for less than an hour – ideally, 20 or 30 minutes – that's one way to pay back and not affect the other process that's important for sleep that runs with the circadian rhythm. It's called the homeostatic drive,' she said. Otherwise, you can get yourself in a vicious cycle of bad sleep. But there's one way to ensure you're waking up as fresh as can be. 'The best approach for optimizing your sleep and next day performance is to set your alarm for the latest possible time, then commit to getting out of bed when your first alarm goes off,' Robbins said.
The Independent
19 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
Here's why you feel awful after going back to bed for that extra hour of sleep
If you've woken up way too early for no good reason, going back to bed for that extra hour of sleep may not be as beneficial as you'd hoped. Instead, you're better off just staying awake, because slipping back into sleep will leave you feeling groggy and agitated since you've disturbed your 90-minute sleep cycle. 'If you were to sleep till you woke up naturally, often, you'd be fine because you'd be in the natural cycle. But then, when you fall asleep and then your alarm wakes you up … you have a good chance of ending up awakening in a deeper sleep phase when you weren't meant to wake up,' Dr. Greg Mahr, a psychiatrist at Henry Ford Health, told The Independent. 'You feel really groggy because you haven't gone through the natural rhythm.' Changes in the brain are 'fairly clear,' he said, looking at recordings of brain activity. When you interrupt those deeper stages of sleep, it can take a while to recover, whereas, being woken up in other lighter stages of sleep does not yield the same results. This is true even if you technically get enough sleep. 'It's typically not listening to our body cycles and trying to override them because of our schedules and alarm clocks,' Mahr noted. Alarm clocks can play a major role in sleep health. Recent research has found that more than 50 percent of 3 million sleep sessions studied ended in a 'snooze.' People spent an average of 11 minutes between snooze alarms before waking and heavy snoozers averaged 20 minutes a day, according to Dr. Rebecca Robbins, a sleep scientist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. 'Unfortunately, the snooze alarm disrupts some of the most important stages of sleep. The hours just before waking are rich in rapid eye movement sleep. Hitting the snooze alarm will interrupt these critical stages of sleep and typically only offer you light sleep in between snooze alarms,' she explained. How many alarms you set can also be a red flag, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine Dr. Rachel Salas. 'If you're a 10-alarm person, that is a huge red flag. If you have to hit the snooze button and you're not waking up, that's a red flag that something may be going on while you're sleeping that you're not aware of,' she explained. 'You might have an undiagnosed, untreated sleep disorder.' People might not be able to control their variable work schedules or environmental conditions. But, can they hack the system? Can you sneak a little extra sleep in without feeling the effects? Salas says you can. 'Taking a nap before 3 p.m. for less than an hour – ideally, 20 or 30 minutes – that's one way to pay back and not affect the other process that's important for sleep that runs with the circadian rhythm. It's called the homeostatic drive,' she said. Otherwise, you can get yourself in a vicious cycle of bad sleep. But there's one way to ensure you're waking up as fresh as can be. 'The best approach for optimizing your sleep and next day performance is to set your alarm for the latest possible time, then commit to getting out of bed when your first alarm goes off,' Robbins said.
The Sun
06-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
The easy morning hack that can stop sleepiness in its tracks revealed by scientists
DO YOU often feel groggy in the morning, despite getting a full night's sleep? Scientists have shared a morning hack to shake away the sleepiness when you wake up in the morning. 1 Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University in Japan said 20 minutes of sunlight may help you feel more alert. But they didn't suggest squeezing in a quick walk after rolling out of bed. Instead, the study authors said being exposed to light 20 minutes before you wake up is key to eradicating grogginess. Previous research shows exposure to artificial light before waking might reduce morning fatigue as it simulates a sunrise. In fact, sunrise alarm clocks have become increasingly popular in recent years, as a gentle alternative to blaring phone alarms. But the Japanese research team said these kinds of gadgets come with some drawbacks. "Dawn simulation has been widely verified to be beneficial for the awakening quality," they wrote in a study published to the Building and Environment journal. "However, using such artificial light requires the installation of dedicated devices, creating challenges for application in ordinary bedrooms where individuals conduct their daily lives." They explained that dawn simulation devices like sunrise alarm clocks are typically "small light sources placed on a bedside table [...] usually at the eye level of the user". "Any involuntary movement of the user, such as turning over or shifting positions in bed, may lead to fluctuations in light exposure during sleep," meaning people won't always reap the benefits of gradual light exposure. Instead, the researchers suggested letting natural light into the room to gradually wake you from your slumber and leave you feeling less tired. In you live in a spot without streetlamps or other forms of light pollution, this could simply be achieved by leaving your curtains or blinds open during the night, scientists said. Otherwise, they suggested installing devices like motorised curtains that block light at night and reopen at a set time each morning - not an option everyone would be able to afford. Researchers put their theory to the test, writing: "Although relevant studies have shown that light control can help improve users' quality of life, few studies have attempted to use natural light control to affect awakening quality. "This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of natural light control in improving awakening quality by designing a controlled experiment." They conducted what's known as a crossover randomised controlled trial, which saw study participants exposed to multiple different sleep environments. The authors recruited 19 university students aged between 20 and 30 years old, who said they tended to go to bed between 11pm and 1am on weekdays and waking between 7 and 9 am. They asked participants to sleep in a university lab furnished like a bedroom. All windows were shaded except for one facing east, making it the only source of natural light. The researchers installed curtains on the east-facing window, plus a motorised device that slowly opened the curtains at a specific time each morning. They used this setup to create three scenarios for participants: Natural light exposure for 20 minutes before waking Natural light exposure from dawn until waking No natural light exposure at all Researchers assessed people's sleepiness, alertness, and fatigue after they woke up to each scenario. Participants said they felt less sleepy when exposed to natural light as they emerged from their slumber, compared to waking up in darkness. But the timing of light exposure was key to reducing grogginess, researchers said. They also measured participants' sleepiness through electroencephalograms - which look at brain activity -finding that they were more alert after being exposed to natural light for 20 minutes before waking, compared the other two scenarios. Exposure to natural light from dawn until waking may offer too much sunlight too soon, the team suggested. "Natural light before waking can positively impact the awakening quality," they concluded. "However, excessive or premature exposure to natural light prior to waking tends to increase the frequency and duration of awakenings during sleep, potentially negatively impacting awakening quality." Due to the small number of participants, researchers said more studies were needed to confirm their results. They also noted that participants didn't have a "washout period" between each scenario, which could have affected their sleep. "To improve awakening quality, it is important not only to avoid nighttime light pollution but also to consider the impact of natural light on awakening quality and to expose oneself to morning daylight at the appropriate time," the study authors said.
