By the Rise team · Updated 21 October 2026.
We make Rise, an alarm app. This page explains the why first; Rise is one option at the end.
Most people keep snoozing because they're short on sleep or their body clock runs later than their alarm. On top of that, the choice to snooze is made in the first groggy moments after waking, a state called sleep inertia, when "five more minutes" feels reasonable. It's common, and it's not laziness.
Below are the four usual reasons, when it might be worth seeing a GP, and what helps.
In short
You're not getting enough sleep when the night is shorter than the morning you need. The NHS says most adults need 7 to 9 hours. NHS Every Mind Matters says finding it hard to wake up can be a sign you're not getting enough. In a 2023 survey of 1,732 people, shorter sleep and morning drowsiness were more common among those who snooze. An early alarm after a late bedtime makes five more minutes feel necessary. Count back from the time you have to get up, and see whether the night left room for that sleep.
Your body clock may run later than the alarm. Chronotype is the plain name for that pattern: some people's body clock naturally runs later, so an early alarm lands in what feels like the middle of their night. People with a later chronotype are often called night owls. The same 2023 survey of 1,732 people found snoozing was more common in younger people and in later chronotypes. The time can be right for your day and still feel early. That is a mismatch of timing.
You decide while you're still half-asleep, in the moments just after the alarm. Sleep inertia is the groggy, slowed-down state just after waking, and it's temporary. The Cleveland Clinic describes that state. A review of the research describes the same short stretch of reduced alertness. So the snooze decision is made by the groggiest version of you. Five more minutes feels reasonable then, even on a morning you would have got up for once you were properly awake.
Repeated every morning, pressing snooze becomes automatic. A 2023 lab study of 31 habitual snoozers found that 30 minutes of snoozing cost about 6 minutes of sleep. Thinking-test performance straight after rising was the same or better than an abrupt wake-up, with no clear effects on morning sleepiness or mood. The authors suggest a brief snooze "may thus help alleviate sleep inertia" for late chronotypes and those with morning drowsiness. A smaller lab study of 10 students linked snoozing with more grogginess. Snoozing itself isn't the villain. It's usually a symptom of the reasons above.
Turning off or snoozing an alarm without remembering it fits sleep inertia: you're only partly awake. The Cleveland Clinic describes that groggy state just after waking, when a hand can move before the memory has caught up. You can silence the sound, roll over, and realise later that you did it. Put the alarm across the room, so turning it off means standing up, and see the full guide's section. If it happens a lot, along with heavy daytime tiredness, read when it might be a medical issue.
Snoozing on a rough morning is common, and this is not a diagnosis. Talk to a GP if you're exhausted every day despite enough time in bed, or you snooze again and again and still can't get going. The NHS says to see a GP if trouble sleeping is affecting daily life. Hartford HealthCare says constant snoozing "may mean you have a sleep disorder". This page can't tell you the cause. Take a short note of your bedtimes, wake times, and how the days feel, and talk it through with your GP.
What helps is usually the reason underneath the button, not a louder alarm. If the night was short, protect the hours before you blame the morning. If your body clock runs late, hold one wake time and get daylight. If the tap happens while you're groggy, move the alarm and make the choice before bed. The steps live on the guide. This list points at the ones that match.
All nine tips, plus a 7-day plan: How to stop hitting snooze. If you set several alarms, see how to wake up on the first alarm.
Rise has you set the snooze price the night before, when you're awake, so the groggy morning version of you isn't deciding alone. It's a nudge you set yourself.
Rise is an Android alarm clock with an optional Pay to Snooze feature. Android only, and iOS is coming soon. You set a token price for each snooze, per alarm, with no minimum or maximum. The price is locked once the alarm rings. No card is charged automatically. Tokens are bought in-app through Google Play. UK prices are 10 for £0.89, 50 for £3.49, and 200 for £8.99. Tokens don't expire. At zero tokens, snoozing is free. Pay to Snooze can be switched off per alarm, and the default snooze is 9 minutes.
Get Rise on Google PlayPeople keep snoozing in the morning for a few ordinary reasons. Short sleep is one: the NHS says most adults need 7 to 9 hours. A later body clock is another: Sundelin's 2023 survey of 1,732 people found snoozing more common in later chronotypes. The choice itself happens in sleep inertia, the groggy state the Cleveland Clinic describes just after waking. It's common, and it isn't a character flaw.
Snoozing without remembering fits sleep inertia. You are only partly awake, and the Cleveland Clinic describes that groggy, slowed-down state just after waking. A press can happen without a clear memory of it. Put the alarm across the room, so silencing it means standing up. The guide on how to stop hitting snooze sets that out. If it happens often with heavy daytime tiredness, speak to a GP.
Not in a simple way. A 2023 lab study of 31 habitual snoozers found that 30 minutes of snoozing cost about 6 minutes of sleep, with no clear effects on mood, sleepiness, or a thinking test straight after rising. A small lab study of 10 students linked snoozing with more grogginess. If you snooze every day and still feel rough, look at your sleep rather than at the button alone.
It can. Sundelin's 2023 Study 1 surveyed 1,732 people and found snoozing was more common in later chronotypes, the night-owl pattern, and in younger people. A later body clock means an early alarm can land while you still feel in the middle of the night. That is about timing. The study doesn't show that this pattern is fixed, or that a night owl can't keep an early alarm.
Usually because the cause is still in place. Too little sleep, or an alarm earlier than your body clock, won't shift just because you want the button to be easy. Sleep inertia means the choice is made while you're groggy, and a daily press becomes a habit. Sort the sleep and the timing. The guide on how to stop hitting snooze walks through what to change.
See a GP if you're exhausted every day despite enough time in bed, or you snooze again and again and still can't get going. The NHS says to see a GP if trouble sleeping is affecting daily life. Hartford HealthCare says constant snoozing "may mean you have a sleep disorder". This isn't a diagnosis. A short note of bedtimes, wake times, and how the days feel will help that conversation.
You make the choice while you're awake, the night before, instead of in the groggy minutes after the alarm. In Rise, Pay to Snooze is optional. You set a token price per snooze, per alarm, and you can switch it off for any alarm. It's a nudge you set yourself. It isn't a claim that you will get up. Read how Pay to Snooze works.