Setting multiple alarms to get up in the morning? Here's why it may be hurting your health
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- It's the nightmare many of us face in the morning: What if I don't wake up on time, and I can't get what I need to get done and get where I need to go?
One out of three Americans admit they don't get enough sleep. Experts say the number of alarm clocks you set says a lot about your health habits.
How many alarms do you set in the morning?
"I set three alarms in the morning. I set two on my phone, five minutes apart and one alarm clock," said Dave Bowman of Temecula.
"Around six alarms," said Eduardo Padilla.
"I usually only have one," said Noel Navarro.
One is the right answer. Sleep experts say if it's more than one, that's not ideal for your overall sleep quality.
"My general advice is that you set one alarm. The more alarms you have, the harder it's going to be for you to wake up in the morning," said Alicia Roth, Ph.D. with Cleveland Clinic.
And how many times do you hit the snooze button?
"Never," said Navarro.
This is a good answer, because the more times you hit snooze, the more you disrupt your body's natural rhythm. That extra five to eight minutes of sleep sends you into a new sleep cycle and when that double alarm hits, you feel groggy, disoriented and stressed out.
Multiple alarms can trigger fight or flight hormones and impact your entire day.
Roth's advice is to set your alarm for the time you actually have to wake up. If you're used to multiple alarms, slowly work your way down to one. Keep your alarm clock across the room, and try to sleep and wake up at the same time seven days a week.
"So, a lot of us have a tendency to go to bed later and wake up later on weekends than on weekdays. That makes it really difficult to wake up on Monday morning, and Tuesday morning, and might prompt us to have multiple alarms or multiple snoozes," said Roth.
Navarro follows this advice to the letter. Not only does he set only one alarm, his body is trained to wake up before it rings.
"I sleep like eight hours every day more or less and just like straight. Like fall asleep, wake up and that's it," he said.
Roth said an underlying sleep disorder could be the reason you find it difficult to pull yourself away from the sheets in the morning.
If this is a recurring issue and starting to impact your everyday life, it may be time to see a sleep specialist.
MORE: Staying up late after a long day can be bad for healthy sleep
