Do you ever get “sleep inertia”? Scientists use the term to describe that groggy, sluggish feeling you get when you go from “fully asleep” to “fully awake” too fast. There may be a solution: new research has shown that upbeat music is more effective at waking you up than a traditional alarm.
Sleep inertia is nothing to snore at! It has been linked to car accidents, and even airplane accidents, when the driver (or pilot) has just woken up. It’s also just plain unpleasant, and can lead to fights, misunderstandings and interfere with your work. Scientists say sleep inertia lasts anywhere from a few seconds to a few hours.
Wake Up to Great Music!
This promising new research looked at the sleeping and waking patterns of 50 different people and found that people who woke up to melodic music had consistently lower levels of sleep inertia, compared to people who woke up to a classic beeping alarm.
Researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia even went as far as to say that melodic music, when used to wake up, appeared to almost entirely neutralize sleep inertia in their study’s subjects.
What’s your favourite morning music to wake up to on The Beat 92.5? As always, let us know what you think in the comments on our Facebook page.