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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — It’s almost become an existential question before going to bed for the night …. set the alarm clock, or not?
For those who do set their alarm, most will tell you they wake up anyway before the alarm goes off.
So why even set it?
Because some people worry if they don’t set their alarm, they won’t wake up in time and possibly be late for work or an important appointment.
The end result is millions of sleep-deprived people alternating between napping and peeking at their alarm clocks while dreading the inevitable time the alarm is set to go off. “I always wake up before my alarm clock goes off,” said this sleeper. Another agreed. “I don’t even know why I set my alarm clock anymore,” he said. “I wake up, peek at the clock, go back to sleep, wake up again, right up until the last minute when it's set to go off at 4 o’clock.”
As you may expect, doctors say that’s not good for your health. In fact, a recent study shows being worried about an alarm clock going off creates intermittent sleep patterns that result in putting even more pressure on a person to fall asleep, which of course just makes it more difficult to fall asleep in the first place.
The CDC says more than a third of Americans get fewer hours of sleep a night than the minimum recommendation of seven hours. And according to the National Institutes of Health, studies across the globe show anywhere from 10% to 30% of the population struggles with insomnia, defined as the consistent difficulty falling asleep and the inability to return to sleep after going to bed.
Sleep experts suggest at some point it’s just better to get up and read or listen to something relaxing to be able to relax, rest, and eventually fall back asleep.
WBZ’s Chris Fama (@CFamaWBZ) reports.
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