Snoozing your alarm could be injurious to health; Check here how

Digital Desk: Everybody has been known to ignore their alarm, especially after having a late night, when getting out of bed early seems like an impossible task. Although the alarm is a blessing, physicians advise against sleeping because it is bad for your health. In reality, the jolts from this daily activity are affecting your ability to sleep and causing a number of health problems.

Snoozing your alarm results in fragmented sleep and sleep inertia, which is not good sleep, says Dr. SP Rai, Consultant, Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai.

"NREM (Non-Rapid Eye Movement) and REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep are two separate sleep stages. When we sleep, we gradually transition from lighter stages of sleep to deeper stages of sleep, particularly REM sleep, also known as restorative sleep, during which our muscles are entirely relaxed, " Dr. Rai stated.

A sleep cycle typically lasts 90 minutes and is repeated 4-6 times throughout the night. "By sleeping, we are interfering with REM sleep, often known as dream sleep, which is a restorative sleep state. In addition to being sufficient for restful sleep for 5 to 10 minutes, interruptions can raise your heart rate and blood pressure," he added.

So how can one stop using an alarm clock to wake up every morning? "Replace hitting the snooze button with new practices. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time, suggested Dr. Rai, who also suggested avoiding caffeine and "drinking a lot of liquid right before bed."

He continued by saying that late-night phone browsing also disturbs sleep. "One hour before going to bed, stop using social media and the internet. Create a reasonable alarm time. Your alarm clock can be moved anywhere in the room. By continuing to ignore your alarm clock, you won't feel any better rested "explained Dr. Rai.