Is snoozing losing? Why intermittent morning alarms are used and how they affect sleep, cognition, cortisol, and mood. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jsr.14054 Summary Pressing the snooze button is a common way to start the day, but little is known about this behaviour. Through two studies we determined predictors and effects of snoozing. In Study 1 (n = 1732) respondents described their waking habits, confirming that snoozing is widespread, especially in younger individuals and later chronotypes. Morning drowsiness and shorter sleep were also more common for those who snooze. Study 2 was a within-subjects laboratory study (with polysomnography) on habitual snoozers (n = 31), showing that 30 min of snoozing improved or did not affect performance on cognitive tests directly upon rising compared to an abrupt awakening. Bayes factors indicate varying strengths of this evidence. Snoozing resulted in about 6 min of lost sleep, while preventing awakenings from slow-wave sleep (N3). There were no clear effects of snoozing on the cortisol awakening response, morning sleepiness, mood, or overnight sleep architecture. A brief snooze period may thus help alleviate sleep inertia, without substantially disturbing sleep, for late chronotypes and those with morning drowsiness.
I think it depends a lot on the individual. Some people can drop back into sleep quickly, while others (me!) find it difficult and slow. If I fully wake and do manage to fall asleep again, I'm likely to wake up feeling groggy and with a headache.
