I have to say, I’m not a fan of snooze buttons. I’ve never needed one. When my alarm goes off, I’m up and ready to face the day—no hesitation, no second chances at sleep. Occasionally, if I have nothing on my agenda, I might doze off again, but let’s be real—I’m a mom who works from home, so that scenario is rare. Most mornings, I find myself awake long before dawn, relishing the quiet moments before the chaos of family life begins.
When my partner asks what time we should rise, I usually say “five o’clock,” because that’s when I aim to start my day. He agrees, and then proceeds to set multiple alarms because, for some reason, he can’t resist the snooze button.
Morning Routine Chaos
Here’s how it typically unfolds: at 4:30, his alarm blares, jolting me awake. I lie there, trying to catch a few more minutes of sleep, but it’s futile. Eventually, I shuffle into the kitchen, brewing coffee and booting up my laptop. By 4:45, his alarm sounds again—an obnoxious echo throughout the house. He hits snooze. Then again at 5:00. Snooze. 5:30? You guessed it—snooze. If I’m lucky, he might stumble out of bed around 6:00.
“How long have you been awake?” he asks, looking groggy.
“Since 4:30,” I reply tersely.
His response is a sheepish, “I’m sorry.” He genuinely feels bad, and I can tell.
The Snooze Button Saga
But the snooze button saga doesn’t end there. His tendency to hit snooze means he programs multiple alarms throughout the week, which blare at random times whether he’s awake or not. This leads to frantic moments when I have to leap off the couch to silence the racket. And if I don’t act fast enough, the worst possible scenario occurs—the kids wake up.
Mornings are my sanctuary. They offer a brief respite from parenting duties—no coaxing little ones to eat breakfast, no refereeing fights, and certainly no enduring my seven-year-old’s relentless rendition of “I’ll take you right into the DANGER ZONE!” Not to mention the countless “No, you can’t watch TV” reminders that inevitably lead to tears. And then the dogs, bless them, start barking because my 9-year-old is up and they know it’s feeding time.
“Oh, Daddy’s alarm woke me up an hour ago,” the kids might say. Seriously?
Sometimes the snooze alarms don’t even wake him. I have to go in and rouse him, which is frustrating because it requires raising my voice. Who wants to be that person? Of course, he wakes up with a huff, grumbling, “You could have been nicer about it.” Really?!
A Morning to Remember
There was one morning when he hit snooze so many times that my 9-year-old asked where he was at 7:30. I panicked, thinking he’d left, only to find he hadn’t even gotten out of bed yet. That day, he showed up late for work and accidentally wore a shirt that smelled like dog pee—let’s not even go there.
If he’s getting up, I’m getting up, period. His alarm means I’m awake, ready or not. And let’s be honest, who’s going to make my coffee?
Occasionally, he manages to get up without slapping the snooze button, but most days, it’s just “five more minutes.” What good are a few extra minutes of sleep, anyway? Studies show that snoozing doesn’t actually help us feel more rested; in fact, it can complicate waking up. As noted in Business Insider, snoozing can lead to a groggy brain, while Huffington Post explains that letting yourself fall back asleep can confuse your body into thinking it doesn’t need to get up. The result? A less-than-ideal start to the day for everyone involved.
Conclusion
So, for the sake of our mornings, can we just agree to wake up when the alarm goes off?
In summary, the snooze button is disruptive—not just to the person using it, but to everyone else in the house. If we can eliminate those extra minutes of sleep, mornings can be more peaceful and productive for all.