Why do some people get especially irritable the moment they’re woken up?
It’s actually called sleep inertia. When we go from asleep to fully awake, different parts of the brain don’t switch on at the same time. The prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for judgment and self-control, is the slowest to wake up. During this window, reaction speed and memory are at their lowest. In a 2006 test, volunteers’ cognitive performance five minutes after waking was only 63% of their peak level. It took 20 to 60 minutes to recover to over 83%. Some researchers believe that right after waking, people may be even less alert than someone who has stayed up all night. It’s worst when an alarm jolts you out of deep sleep, and even worse after a late night.
A 2020 study by Australia’s RMIT University, published in PLOS ONE, also found that the sound of the alarm itself can make a difference: data from 50 volunteers showed that melodic alarm tones helped people feel more refreshed after waking, while harsh beeping was associated with greater grogginess.
Why not switch your alarm to a song you like tonight and see how you feel tomorrow morning?
It’s actually called sleep inertia. When we go from asleep to fully awake, different parts of the brain don’t switch on at the same time. The prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for judgment and self-control, is the slowest to wake up. During this window, reaction speed and memory are at their lowest. In a 2006 test, volunteers’ cognitive performance five minutes after waking was only 63% of their peak level. It took 20 to 60 minutes to recover to over 83%. Some researchers believe that right after waking, people may be even less alert than someone who has stayed up all night. It’s worst when an alarm jolts you out of deep sleep, and even worse after a late night.
A 2020 study by Australia’s RMIT University, published in PLOS ONE, also found that the sound of the alarm itself can make a difference: data from 50 volunteers showed that melodic alarm tones helped people feel more refreshed after waking, while harsh beeping was associated with greater grogginess.
Why not switch your alarm to a song you like tonight and see how you feel tomorrow morning?