A PRACTICAL GUIDE
By the Rise team · Updated 21 October 2026.
We make Rise, an alarm app. It's one of nine tips here, not the only answer.
To stop hitting snooze, set your alarm for the time you actually need to get up, put it out of reach so you have to stand up to turn it off, get daylight soon after waking, and keep the same wake time every day. If you're still exhausted, the fix is usually more sleep, not a louder alarm.
Below are nine tips, why snoozing is so tempting, and what the research says about whether it's bad for you.
In a 2023 study of 1,732 people, the most common reason people gave for snoozing was feeling too tired to get up. Snoozing was more common in younger people and in those with later body clocks ("evening types"), and in people who slept less and felt groggier in the morning. Sundelin and colleagues reported that in the Journal of Sleep Research.
Sleep inertia is the groggy, slowed-down state just after waking. It is real, and it is temporary. The Cleveland Clinic describes that heavy window. A review of the research describes the same short stretch of impaired alertness.
The decision is made while you are half-asleep, so it often happens on autopilot. Habit does the rest.
More on why you keep snoozing →
In one survey of 293 Japanese university students, 70.5% said they often used their phone's snooze, mainly to reduce anxiety about oversleeping. That figure is from that survey of students. It is not a figure for people in general.
A small lab study of 10 students found that a snooze alarm prolonged light, drowsy sleep, called stage N1, in the last 20 minutes before waking. It was linked with more grogginess than a single alarm.
A 2023 lab study of 31 habitual snoozers found that 30 minutes of snoozing cost about 6 minutes of sleep. It did not harm mood, sleepiness or the sleep they had overnight. It may even have helped thinking speed straight after waking. Both studies are small.
Sleep specialists still generally advise getting up with the first alarm. Stanford's Dr Fiona Barwick says snoozing "prolongs morning grogginess and associates the bed with being awake". The Sleep Foundation says the extra sleep from snoozing is fragmented, so those minutes are not the same as staying asleep.
An occasional snooze isn't a health crisis. But if you snooze every day and still feel rough, it's worth breaking the habit.
Don't build in snooze time. Set the alarm a little later and get up with it, because the minutes you spend snoozing are broken-up sleep. The Sleep Foundation describes that snooze sleep as fragmented, so it is a poor stand-in for a real lie-in.
If you want to stop snoozing in the morning, use the time you really leave the bed. An earlier alarm you never obey trains your hand to hunt for the button. Give it a few mornings before you judge it. Get up with that later alarm, and let the earlier one go. Then keep that time.
Try tonight: note when you actually get up, set tomorrow's alarm for that time, and remove the earlier one you never keep.
Put your alarm across the room. Having to stand up to turn it off breaks the reflex of tapping snooze and rolling over. Hartford HealthCare says: "Movement is a signal to your brain that it's time to wake up."
To avoid hitting snooze, put the button a few steps away. People who want to quit hitting snooze on r/ask and r/NoStupidQuestions come back to this step. University College London Hospitals, an NHS trust, also suggests leaving your phone outside the bedroom and using a regular alarm clock.
Try tonight: charge the phone, or place the clock, where you have to stand up to reach it. Across the room beats face down on the pillow. Standing up is the part that counts.
A long lie-in moves the time your body expects to wake, so the next alarm lands deeper in your sleep. Keep one wake time, including on days off.
The NHS advises waking and getting out of bed at the same time every day, and not sleeping in after a bad night. NHS inform says this "helps to regulate your body clock and sleep drive".
Pick a time you can keep for all seven days. If a night runs late, still get up. A short night is easier to recover from than a clock that keeps sliding later. The weekend lie-in can wait until the wake time is steady.
Try tonight: write down one wake time and set it for tomorrow, even if tomorrow is a day off.
Get enough sleep before you blame the alarm. If you are short of sleep, getting up will feel harder, and no button replaces those hours.
The NHS says most adults need 7 to 9 hours. NHS Every Mind Matters notes that finding it hard to wake up can be a sign you are not getting enough. Work backwards from your wake time. If the alarm is 7:00, go to bed early enough for those hours, plus a little time to fall asleep.
Try tonight: count back 7 to 9 hours from your alarm, add a little time to fall asleep, and set a bedtime you can keep. Put the bedtime where you will see it. The hours matter more than the ringtone.
Get daylight soon after you wake. Morning light tells your body clock that the day has started, which makes the next wake time easier to keep.
NHS inform says go outside, even briefly, for daylight in the morning, and that this "still works on cloudy or rainy days". Stanford recommends getting out of bed within 15 minutes and getting natural light. A minute on the doorstep counts.
In winter, opening the curtains straight away, or turning the lights on, is a practical stand-in when you cannot get outside. That brightens the room. It is a household habit, not a treatment for anything.
Try tonight: leave the curtains ready to open, and plan one minute outside once you are on your feet.
Give your morning something you like. If what waits is a rush you dread, "five more minutes" is an easy escape. A small pleasure once you are standing gives you a reason to get up.
The Sleep Foundation suggests a wake-up routine with activities you enjoy, so there is a reason to leave the snooze button alone. Keep it small enough to do while you are groggy. A coffee you like, music you save for the morning, or a short walk is enough. Set it up before bed, so it does not depend on a fresh decision at the alarm.
Try tonight: choose one thing for the first few minutes and leave it where you will see it as soon as you stand.
Wind down before bed so the morning has less to fight. Keep this short. The point is an easier morning. A quiet hour before bed is enough.
The NHS suggests relaxing for at least an hour before bed and keeping screens out of that hour. The NHS also advises against caffeine within 6 hours of bed. A late coffee and a bright phone are two ordinary ways to push sleep later.
Use the hour for a shower, a book, or laying out tomorrow's clothes. Leave the bright screen out of that hour. Do this on the nights when the morning matters to you.
Try tonight: pick a screen-off time one hour before bed, and leave caffeine for earlier in the day.
Turn snooze off, or use one alarm instead of a chain of them. Fewer rings means fewer chances to bargain while you are half-asleep.
Be honest about the trade-off. A commenter on a r/NoStupidQuestions thread warns that with no snooze you might fall back asleep and miss something while you adjust. On mornings that matter, keep a backup alarm across the room.
Some alarm apps make you solve a puzzle or scan something before they stop. If you want to see those next to putting a price on the snooze, compare pay-to-snooze and anti-snooze apps. Pick the one you would still use on a tired Tuesday.
Try tonight: switch off repeated snoozes on tomorrow's alarm, and keep a backup if missing the morning would matter.
Decide the night before, while you are awake. A commitment device is a small consequence you choose in advance. A paper on loss aversion is background, not proof it will get you up.
Rise is an Android alarm clock with optional Pay to Snooze. iOS is coming soon. You set a token price per snooze, per alarm, with no minimum or maximum. The price locks once the alarm rings. Dismissing is free. No card is charged automatically. You spend tokens you have bought. At zero tokens, snoozing goes back to free. You can switch it off per alarm. Tokens do not expire.
Try tonight: set tomorrow's snooze price before you go to sleep.
Read how Pay to Snooze works.
Get Rise on Google PlayTurning off an alarm without remembering it is linked to sleep inertia: you are only partly awake. The Cleveland Clinic describes that groggy, slowed-down state just after waking.
Put the alarm across the room, so turning it off means standing up. Use a backup alarm for important mornings. Do not rely on a snooze you will not remember pressing.
If this is most mornings, keep one wake time and check that you are getting enough sleep at night. A phone in your hand is an easy tap to forget. Standing up to reach the alarm makes that half-asleep press much harder.
This is a starting plan, not a guarantee. If you set several alarms, see how to wake up on the first alarm.
If you are exhausted every day despite enough time in bed, or you need to snooze over and over, it may be worth talking to a GP. Hartford HealthCare says constant snoozing "may mean you have a sleep disorder". The NHS says to see a GP if trouble sleeping is affecting your daily life.
This page cannot tell you the cause. Speak to your GP, and take a short note of your bedtimes, wake times, and how the mornings feel.
Set the alarm for when you actually need to get up, and put it out of reach so you have to stand up. Keep the same wake time every day, weekends included. The Sleep Foundation describes snooze sleep as fragmented. The NHS advises getting out of bed at the same time each day, including after a bad night.
Not in a simple way. A small lab study of 10 students linked a snooze alarm with more light, drowsy sleep and more grogginess than one alarm. A 2023 lab study of 31 habitual snoozers found that 30 minutes of snoozing cost about 6 minutes of sleep and did not harm mood, sleepiness or overnight sleep. An occasional snooze isn't a health crisis.
The most common reason people give is feeling too tired to get up. In a 2023 study of 1,732 people, snoozing was more common in younger people, evening types, and people who slept less. Sleep inertia, the groggy state just after waking, is real and temporary. The Cleveland Clinic describes it. The choice is also made half-asleep, on autopilot. More on why you keep snoozing.
Turning an alarm off without remembering it fits with sleep inertia: you are only partly awake. The Cleveland Clinic describes that groggy state just after waking. Put the alarm across the room so silencing it means standing up. Use a backup alarm on important mornings, and do not rely on a snooze you will not remember pressing.
Keep the same wake time every day, weekends included, put the alarm out of reach, and get daylight soon after you are up. NHS inform says a steady wake time helps to regulate your body clock and sleep drive, and morning daylight still works on cloudy days. Give it several mornings. See how to wake up on the first alarm.
The NHS says most adults need 7 to 9 hours. Count back from the time you need to get up and set a bedtime that leaves that window. If you are exhausted despite enough time in bed, or trouble sleeping is affecting daily life, see a GP.
Early mechanical alarm clocks used a nine-minute snooze, which is why that length is still common. Reader's Digest traces that history. Rise's default snooze is also 9 minutes, and you can change it. The length is a habit of those old clocks.
They make snoozing a choice you make in advance, while you are awake, instead of a tap you barely notice. There is no guarantee it will change your morning. For the differences, compare pay-to-snooze and anti-snooze apps. In Rise, Pay to Snooze can be switched off per alarm, and dismissing the alarm is free.
If you are exhausted every day despite enough time in bed, or you snooze over and over, talk to a GP. Hartford HealthCare says constant snoozing "may mean you have a sleep disorder". The NHS says to see a GP if trouble sleeping affects daily life. This page cannot tell you the cause.
If you'd like to decide tonight what snoozing costs tomorrow, try Rise's Pay to Snooze.
Android. iOS coming soon.