How hitting the snooze button could save your life

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Everyone loves the luxury of hitting the snooze button for those five extra cheeky minutes wrapped under the duvet on a frosty December morning.

But scientists are discovering those vital minutes could also help save your life.

Scientists at China’s Nanjing Medical University found that people who were sleep-deprived during a typical hardworking week but managed to grab an extra two hours’ sleep on the weekend were 63 per cent less likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke.

The sleep cycle study tracking 3,400 people, also found in contrast, workers who got less than six hours a night during the working week and didn’t snooze on weekends were more at risk of cardiovascular disease.

The researchers said: “Weekend catch-up sleep is [also] associated with a low risk of angina, stroke and heart disease – especially in those with short sleep durations during the week.

“Research has shown sleep is not only for physiological rest but also has profound effects on cardiovascular health.”

Decades of previous research suggested that hitting snooze can have negative effects, both on sleep and the brain’s ability to wake up with doctors recommending deep unbroken sleep instead.

A new study, published in the Journal of Sleep Research, assessed how common snoozing is and what effects this behaviour has on sleep, sleepiness, mood, and the brain’s cognitive abilities.

Researchers found that those who snooze on average sleep slightly shorter and feel more drowsy in the morning compared to those who never snooze.

But they also saw that there were no negative effects of snoozing on the release of the stress hormone cortisol, mood, or sleep quality throughout the night.

Other studies have found snoozing an extra hour or two can ward off obesity and depression.