REASONS WHY THE SLEEP CYCLE IS BEHIND THE SNOOZE ALARM ALLERGY AND HOW TO RESOLVE IT
Did you know there is a trigger-sleep cycle- that causes the snooze alarm action? How many times have you hit the snooze button on your alarm clock? Huh! We all admit that we dread hearing the buzz from the clocks and we have to get back to the harsh reality of a new busy day. We have gone to the extent of setting numerous alarms to keep us awake but we end up hitting snooze.
We tend to hit the snooze button to continue with the dreams and later end up regretting why we did the “hit pose”. We promise never to snooze the clock but end up guilty and charged of the same crime over and over again. Severally I fought with myself, my sleep verses my mind on who is to win me over into their actions. Well, while sleep wants me to continue be-friending the bed, the mind is demanding action to push me ahead to grow. Unfortunately time and again, sleep had a super power to win the battle.
Amazingly, did you know that, that monster can be killed? Your question then is “How can I resolve that issue and yet I have done everything possible but none is working?”
The secret behind that monster is the giant called the sleep cycle. Sleep cycle is the period of time it takes for an individual to progress through sleep in its various stages.
Sleep has different stages that make up the sleep cycle. Each cycle has five stages:-
First stage- This is the light sleep stage where one is relatively awake and can hear all the movements around them . The body muscles at this stage tend to experience contractions as the movements reduce slowly within the body.
Second Stage- This is when the body prepares to switch to deep sleep. At this stage all eye movements reduce and the brain is slower hence making it harder for it to be receptive of the ongoings in the surrounding.
Third Stage- Here is where we experience deep sleep. At this point, we all never hear all that is going on. This is the stage where all unconscious actions take place like sleep talking/walking and for the younger ones bed wetting.
Fourth Stage- This is the period transitioning between deep sleep back to the light sleep period. This is the continuation of deep sleep.
Both the third stage and fourth stage are the most distressing times to wake up as the mind is still in deep sleep.
Fifth Stage- This is also known as Rapid Eye Movement stage. The brain tends to imitate the movements that occur while waking up causing the eyes to move while the brain power increases speed to become active.
Every sleep cycle takes 90 minutes. The question is how to set ourselves to utilizing the cycles to ensure we don’t experience sleep deprivation. For a healthy sleep routine, it is recommended that we undergo 5-6 sleep cycles.
Luckily for us, we do not have to do the Maths to know the exact sleep cycle hours.
There are different ways to do that. There are sleep calculators. They help to know when to wake up or when to go to bed. They are helpful in planning our sleep before we get comfortable inside the bed. They are:
1. sleepytime calculator – I have been using this and I highly recommend it. This is because it gives you the flexibility to calculate backwards on when to sleep, by setting your expected waking up time. Ensuring you wake up on time without feeling drowsy. This is helpful especially for those working. The others are:
2. Sleep Calculator
3. Nectar Sleep
The next time you feel the need to hit the snooze button, remember you are allowing the sleep cycle giant to get on your way.
Share with us your experiences and how you are able to get rid of the snooze alarm monster.
Have NON-SNOOZY morning hours.
