How to Stop Hitting the Snooze Button Every 10 Minutes (3 photos)
If you wake up at the same time every morning, you're probably all too familiar with hitting the snooze button. Desperate for just a little more shut-eye, we give ourselves an extra 10 minutes—and then another 10, and another. Needless to say, even after doing this three or four times, we still drag ourselves out of bed feeling exhausted and groggy. Scientists have explained why trying to catch extra sleep this way simply doesn't work, and how to wake up the right way. 
Sleep experts say it all comes down to sleep inertia and sleep cycles. When your alarm goes off and you hit snooze for 10 minutes, you're only making things worse. Your brain starts a brand-new deep sleep cycle, which by nature's design should last at least 90 minutes. Cutting it short after just 10 minutes is completely unnatural. 
As a result, even if you’ve slept eight or nine hours, waking up won't feel refreshing—leaving you sluggish and irritable instead. But what should you do if getting up to the first alarm feels just as awful as waking up to a snoozed one? Doctors recommend resetting your alarm for 60 to 90 minutes after it first goes off. The positive difference this makes can be remarkable!
But how can you sleep in for an extra hour or an hour and a half when you have to get to work? The solution is simple: head to bed that much earlier. Set your morning alarm with enough of a buffer so you can comfortably afford a 60- to 90-minute snooze window. Tricking your body this way makes getting up in the morning far easier. Better yet, aim for a steady eight hours of sleep every night and stick to a consistent bedtime so your body builds a healthy routine.
Other Ways to Break the Snooze Habit
If you consider yourself a person of strong willpower, disable the snooze function on your alarm altogether. To sneak in an extra 10 minutes of sleep, you'll have to dig into your settings—an effort that will quickly shake off any lingering drowsiness. There are also smartphone alarm apps designed to help you wake up effectively: to snooze or turn off the alarm, you have to solve a math problem. Good luck falling back asleep after that! 
The reward system also works wonders. Pick an enjoyable activity and set aside half an hour for it right after you wake up. It could be reading a book, browsing social media, or anything else you enjoy. Allow yourself to do it only in the morning, right after your alarm goes off. You'll quickly find that you have a genuine incentive to get up immediately—no snoozing required.
