Sometimes, old traditions just don’t line-up with what science suggests is best; the 9-minute snooze button on alarm clocks falls in that category. When designing Zeo, instead of banishing the snooze button all together (which some sleep scientists might encourage), we built a smarter snooze button – one that might just yield some interesting insights…
The Story of the Snooze Button and +Zzz
It’s been told that snooze buttons first started to appear in the 1950′s, when alarm clocks still relied on mechanical components (like gears). The only “snooze gear” that fit into the already-standardized components inside these early alarm clocks was in the 9-minute range – so this became the standard. When the change was made to digital clocks, 9-minutes stuck.
There was a massive internal debate about the existence of a snooze button on Zeo. Some sleep scientists aren’t big fans of snoozing because:
- The extra sleep you get while snoozing typically is not deeper, restorative sleep
- People should just set their alarms for when they need to get out of bed, not for when they need to start hitting the snooze button
- A nap is much better at revitalizing you than extra time with the snooze button
Representing the other side of the debate (advocating for a snooze button) were:
- The decorated tradition of snooze buttons in alarm clocks
- The feedback from hundreds of our product testers, who told us it would be strange to buy an alarm clock without a snooze button
Instead of taking sides, we decided to try to make everyone happy; we would just build a better, smarter snooze button. First, we ran a survey asking how long people would want to snooze for and (of course) there was no consensus. Then we decided the best thing to do was to just let everyone choose the length of their own snooze, from 0 minutes to 30 minutes.
In the end, everyone was pleased with their new snooze button, which became more of a chance to get the right amount of extra sleep. Thus, we renamed our snooze button: “+Zzz.”
Changing How We Snooze
As it turns out, almost 1/2 of snoozing Zeo users have changed their snooze length from the 9-minute default – we’re happy to see that the adjustable snooze is a hit. What did users change their snooze length to? Take a look:
*Excludes users with the default 9-minute snooze length
If you’re a Zeo owner – the choice is yours.
How Do You Snooze?
Regarding me, I’m a 5-minute snoozer since I don’t want to fall back into REM sleep, and I tend to press it more at the end of the week than at the beginning. Please leave a comment and tell me how long you snooze (or, if you don’t own a Zeo, how long you would set your +Zzz) and why.
Till next time, happy sleeping.
Among other things, Jason (ZQ: 73) is responsible for designing our products, which includes everything you see, touch, read, hear, and interact with on Zeo, myZeo.com and the Sleep Coaching program. He’ll be writing a series of posts about various features that are built into Zeo. If you would like to learn why things are designed the way they are, send us an email at Zeology@myzeo.com and Jason will discuss it in a future post!
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There’s a different but related feature I like: you can set a window before when you need to be up by and it wakes you during a non-restorative sleep phase (not REM or deep sleep). I used it for the first time today during a nap. It woke me up right after exiting REM, and I felt great. Normally when I use an alarm clock to end a nap I feel terrible and disoriented. Hopefully this is the start of a new happy pattern. Thanks!
Anne-
Thanks for your comments. Glad you enjoy using SmartWake! Waking up groggy from a nap can sometimes defeat the purpose of the nap!
I think there will definitely be a future blog post about SmartWake and how it came to be.
Jason
(@sleepr)
I like the concept of Smartwake, but in practice what tends to happen is I’m often in light sleep at that point in the morning, and it wakes me at the very beginning of the wake window (which I set to 30 minutes). So, basically, rather than losing that extra sleep, I stopeed using Smartwake
Margaret-
Good to hear about your Zeo experience. Like you, I don’t like waking up too early, so I set my SmartWake for a 20-minute window rather than the default 30-minute window (you can adjust it in the Settings button).
We’ve gotten a lot of requests for more info about SmartWake. Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming blog post!
Jason
(@sleepr)
I have my Zeo snooze set to 5 minutes, because, like you, I don’t want to fall back into REM. I may push this back to 7 minutes, though (which was the standard on my old alarm clock, by the way.) I like just laying there in bed, almost awake, for a few extra minutes. I’ve also been using the Zeo SmartWake feature which I think is fabulous. The SmartWake has kept me from being groggy since I got the Zeo just about a week ago in the mail. I’m still adjusting to sleeping with the headband, though. It’s taking me an incredibly long time to fall asleep (about 1.5 hours) because for some reason, I just keep thinking about the Zeo being there. It’s been almost a week though, and it’s improving. I only expect it to improve more over the next couple of days. You have a fantastic product on your hands here. Although, I think $199 would be the sweet spot for it; $399 made it almost seem not worth it.
Mike-
Great to hear you are taking full advantage of Zeo, the adjustable snooze length and SmartWake. As one of the people that designed these elements, it is always great to hear good feedback.
I think you’ll find, like a lot of other Zeo users, the headband becomes increasingly comfortable over time. We’ve heard a couple funny stories about users only realizing they were still wearing it when they looked in the mirror while brushing their teeth in the morning. Also, thanks for your feedback on the price.
I am also a big fan of SmartWake; I use it every morning. For a lot of people, sleep is a luxury; so is waking up relaxed and refreshed!
Jason
(@sleepr)
Truth is, I didn’t find SmartWake very useful. It woke me ½ hour too early, and I didn’t feel any different — except for missing the 30 minutes’ sleep. The Zeo record showed that I was always in Light Sleep at this time anyway.
I took some grief from my wife for spending $399 for Zeo. I think it’s been well worth the investment. Lately, she has quit ragigng me about it, as she sees the benefit I’m getting from it. Even she has benefited: Recently, she could not get to sleep. I took her through the series of physical stretching exercises, and before we were through she was out like a light.
I’ve increased my ZQ from about 50 to over 70 so far, with a high of 102! Thanks, Zeo.
George-
Great story about your wife and the value of a better night’s sleep. What kind of stretching exercises helped her get to sleep?
SmartWake isn’t for everyone, but it is good to explore anyway. The people who like it the most tend to be those that don’t get as much sleep as they would like or need.
And congrats on the ZQ of 102!
Jason
(@sleepr)
Are there any benefits to using snooze?
I was a snooze addict in my early teens, would have to set alarm an hour earlier just to compensate for overuse of snooze. I got a battery-operated analog clock with no snooze as a going away to school gift and found that once I broke myself of the snooze habit I was really fine without it. I turn off the alarm and oversleep less than once a year.
Would there be any reason I would want to go _back_ to using a snooze? (If I decide I’m not getting up with my alarm, I re-set it for later).
@ Susan
Everyone has his or her own relationship to the snooze, just like everyone has their own sleep patterns, habits, and needs (http://blog.myzeo.com/time-spent-snoozing/). For those who are slow to wake up, the snooze can be a healthy way to start the day. However, if you’re just looking for extra sleep I recommend weaning yourself off the snooze button and try extending your total sleep time each night. You might notice that you come to rely on the snooze button less and less, and don’t feel quite so groggy in the morning.
Psychologically, routinely hitting a snooze button in the morning could also send the wrong message to your brain, namely that you’re not ready to deal with the here and now, which in turn could affect attitude, how you move through the day, and how you relate and interact with others.
So if you feel good without using a snooze button, then that’s great!
Where can I buy this clock and how much are they?