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Audrey JoAnn | Content and Copy Writer

Compelling Copy for Female Founders

SNOOZING IS EVIL & HERE’S WHY

September 27, 2018

negative side effects of snoozing

One of my worst bad habits is snoozing my alarm when it goes off every morning. John and I both do it, and usually our alarms aren’t synced, so his goes off, then a few minutes later mine goes off, and then his again a couple minutes later, then mine, then his, etc., etc. If I weren’t so busy trying to squeeze in a few more minutes of sleep, I’d probably be annoyed by the influx of interruptions every morning.

Instead, we take turns tapping the Snooze button on each of our iPhones and rolling over for just a few more minutes of shuteye. And then a few more. And then a few more. It is such a part of my wakeup routine that I really don’t think twice about it most days.

But earlier this week, after hitting Snooze for the first time Tuesday morning (I usually partake in 3 to 4 snoozes a day), a thought came to me. Is snoozing for a half hour or more every day affecting my health? The question was enough to pique my interest, but alas, as the true snoozer I am, I fell back asleep regardless of my curiosity.

When your sleep life doesn’t jive with the rest of your life

As someone who is obsessed with productivity, my lazy morning habit is kind of embarrassing to admit. I searched online later that day to see what my routine is doing to me mentally, and holy cow, I was shocked to learn all of the implications that snoozing has on health, sleep quality, and daytime fatigue. Figuring (hoping) I couldn’t be alone in this a.m. faux pas, I’m passing on the knowledge.

I’m also writing about this because my plan that I’m very scared of and not at all looking forward to, but that all experts say you must do to recover from snooze-aholism, is getting up. The alarm goes off (mine’s set for 6:30 every day), and I get out of bed. At least, that’s the earth-shattering cure that everyone else says you gotta do.

And I need accountability, so friends, if you’re a snoozer or not, I’d love company in my early-morning, waking-up misery and support in this un-fun endeavor. (The hilarity that I’ve always had the audacity to call myself a “morning person” amid this wakeup call debacle is not lost on me. I may have to change my label to “post-coffee morning person.” I’m okay with that.)

I got most of my information from an article from Amerisleep, and the following are some of the most appalling effects of snoozing.

Here’s why snoozing is the worst

Your sleep cycle is screwed. A quick sleep cycle recap: When you go to bed, you first enter the light sleep stage, where drowsiness leads to a slowed heart rate and your body temp drops as you fall asleep. Then you go into deep sleep, the stage when your body regrows tissue, builds muscle and bone, and heightens immunity. After that is REM (rapid eye movement), usually about 90 minutes after first nodding off; it’s a highly active and also highly restorative stage of sleep, and is imperative for focus and sharpness during the day.

When our alarms go off in the morning, usually it’s toward the end of a REM cycle. If you get up right away, that signals to the brain that REM is done. But, when we (okay, okay, when ‘I’) snooze and go back to sleep, we’re thrown right back into REM. Then, the next time the alarm sounds, you’re in the middle of REM, rather than at the end like you were when the alarm first went off, and we’re left befuddled and foggy, instead of rested and ready for the day.

Your quality of sleep all night is screwed, too. As long as you go to bed at a decent time, you should be ready to wake up when your alarm goes off. But if you go back to sleep after getting woken up, your body spirals into confusion. When is it supposed to wake up? When is it supposed to be sleeping? Interrupting REM over and over by snoozing several times makes your body believe REM may be interrupted all throughout the night, leading to poor sleep quality and tossing and turning.

I can totally attest to this. I wake up several times throughout the night—sometimes I just stir fuzzily, other times I’m up for hours at a time. Now that I understand how I’ve been habitually disrupting REM, I can see how this happens so often.

Your immune system, ability to focus, stress levels, and long-term physical health are, you guessed it, screwed. According to the Amerisleep research and also my own research life, ineffective sleep can cause irritability or snappiness (oops). But, even worse, it leads to major stress, poor immunity, and heightened inflammation. And high inflammation levels can cause heart disease, cancer, stroke, and cognitive decline later on. A mere week of unproductive sleep can hinder hundreds of genes in the body.

After learning about these negative side effects of snoozing, I’m stubbornly realizing a few more minutes of sleep are so not worth it. They seem so delicious and dreamy (pun intended) in the moment, but since snoozing basically trashes all my waking and sleeping hours, I suppose it’s time to give it up, and just get up. Y’all in?

If you’re a recovering snoozer, drop your tips for waking up with ease below in a comment, or shoot me an email!

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Welcome! I'm Audrey, and I adore connecting with female founders and telling their stories in a way that matters & lasts for years to come.

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audskelton

I used to hardcore resist SEO in my writing work. I used to hardcore resist SEO in my writing work. 😂 It felt formal and stuffy and forced, so I just sorta... ignored it. 

As someone who appreciates copywriting for the creative and storytelling sides of it, I have struggled with some of the technical pieces like search engine optimization. 🥴

But... my clients wanted SEO, and truthfully I know it *is* important, even if ~cReAtIvE writer Audrey~ wanted to pretend it wasn’t a thing.

I began paying more attention to how to do it in a non-icky manner and sort of backed into this simple method for incorporating SEO best practices in blog posts in a way that is natural (aka, doesn’t read like a robot wrote it). Here’s what I do!

• Google your topic/headline. It will help you find the most appropriate keyword to focus on in your post. Say the topic you want to write about is “how to get your newborn to sleep.” 🙃 Type it into Google, and see what kinds of content comes up on the first page.
• Pay attention to which keywords are repeated. For this one, “newborn sleep tips,” “baby sleep tips,” and “how to get your newborn to sleep” are all keywords used in multiple headlines. Also pay attention to the “People also search for” and “Related searches” lists that Google provides because those are keyword goldmines. 
• Pick ONE of these phrases to use as your main SEO keyword (and try to weave in a few of the other phrases throughout the post, but don’t worry too much about those other ones... it’s better to have one focused keyword). Make sure you choose one that you can organically use a few times in the blog post. (So not something like “best restaurants near me 2021”... that keyword stinks and will read like you’re trying to rank).
• Use the keyword you chose in your headline, 1st paragraph of the post, and at least one H2 or H3. It should be in the blog post at least 3-4 times. The best places are the intro paragraph, 1st header, and last paragraph. And aaaaalways the headline!!!
• Include the keyword in a meta description (or the summary Google will pull underneath your blog post’s headline).
• Finally, make sure the content is actually interesting. Because SEO doesn’t mean a dang thing if the content sucks. 🥵
Motherhood is the only time I’ve worked hard at Motherhood is the only time I’ve worked hard at something every day but haven’t been able to problem solve or research my way into feeling very much better at it.

I know what you’re thinking. It’s only been 6 weeks! You have a *lifetime* to keep learning. I KNOW. It’s ridiculous but this is how my brain works.

And some days I just thank God over and over for a beautiful and healthy and good baby. Like, I still can’t believe he’s real. Then... there are times I just need a quick sob on the floor (😂😅) because he won’t nap longer than 20 minutes. It’s a real ride, over here. 

Most days I’m in leggings and the only thing on my face is coconut oil. I usually don’t get to brush my teeth until 10 a.m. or later. I want to cry every time he cries and I can’t figure out why.

It’s this constant mix of feeling unproductive because I’m literally not producing or accomplishing anything most days, let alone getting dressed (a la this photo), and feeling the most productive I’ve ever been because... I’m keeping this tiny being alive! (Using my boobs! That is insane, no? Why don’t we talk about this??)

Anyway. That’s the end of my jumbled rant on 6 weeks of parenthood that no one asked for. 😂 I just hope Wally knows how infinitely loved he is, always and forever. Even when I can’t figure out if it’s witching hour or sleepy cues or just gas.
Little valentine, thank you for being mine. ♥️ Little valentine, thank you for being mine. ♥️

#valentinesday #valentinesbaby #6weeksold #babyboy #boymom #valentine #babyoutfit
Me every day since becoming a mama = 🥺🥲🥰 Me every day since becoming a mama = 🥺🥲🥰 

Never knew I had a maternal bone in my body, yet here we are. I’m just... obsessed with him? Neck rolls and all. 🤎
It’s the hands and the half smile for me. 🤗 It’s the hands and the half smile for me. 🤗

One month old tomorrow and I *can’t* believe it! 🎉 He’s the sweetest babe, loves bath time, sleeps in 3.5-5 hour stretches at night (for now...), responds to smiles, and is already here for a good book, much to both of his parents’ satisfaction! We love you, Wallace. 🤎
Who do you think was more excited about this day t Who do you think was more excited about this day trip out to the coast... us or Wallace? 😅😂 I love them. Also, I can’t get over the burp cloth on John’s shoulder. Ya know, just in case. #newparentlife
One hour, just us two in our backyard with a big c One hour, just us two in our backyard with a big charcuterie board, a deck of cards, a couple glasses of rosé, and no baby monitor. 🤎

The first week of Wallace’s life? I ached even being in another room from him (#hormones). I was a wreck of emotions and had legitimate baby tunnel vision... preeeetty much nothing else mattered. But things have been balancing out this past week, and today was so needed.

My mom is in town all month and watched Wally for us so we could have some time just us two—yep, in the backyard because of shelter in place restrictions from COVID. (Plus let’s be real... I’m not quite ready for an out-of-the-house date yet anyway. 😂)

As much as I desire to be a present + loving mama and ambitious business owner, it’s just as important to me to prioritize our marriage with little moments like this to just be in each other’s presence (and not just talk about burping and swaddling and bedtime routines, like most of our recent convos).

Here’s to (almost) 2 weeks of being parents, @the_beermonger. I think we’ll do okay.
My two favorite guys in the world. 🤍🌎 My two favorite guys in the world. 🤍🌎
Me, trying to figure out what to do with my hands Me, trying to figure out what to do with my hands without a bump. 👐🏼 Wallace, trying to figure out what we’re doing out of the house. 🤨

First family walk in the books! All of 10 minutes. 🤪 (Also, does anyone else notice the rainbow over Wally?... My heart. 🌈🥺)
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