Snuff Snooze

Product Experience

Problem Space 

Problem Statement  

How might we motivate non-morning young professionals and those suffering from insomnia to adopt healthier sleep habits to help increase their sleep health and productivity? 

Problem Background  

Many naturally non-morning young professionals (57% according to research done by analytic and consulting company,  Gallup) find themselves struggling to get out of bed when their alarm goes off, often resorting to the allure of the snooze button. Those precious extra minutes of slumber can seem harmless at first, but the act of repeatedly hitting snooze can have a negative impact. While it might seem as if after pressing the snooze button you’re headed back to a restorative REM sleep, when your brain activity is most similar to the activity when you’re awake; in actuality, your body is headed back to a deep sleep that is more difficult to wake up from making you feel more tired and less productive in your day. This disruption means that those extra minutes are not as restful as they seem, leaving individuals feeling groggy. 

The struggle to wake up on time is fairly common, even after a full night's sleep. According to studies conducted by Headspace, only about 30% of North Americans at any given time are having difficulty sleeping. Studies also show that these lifestyle changes related to sleep habits take time and effort. 

To combat this issue, some are turning to sleep-tracking apps, which can help determine optimal wake-up times by monitoring sleep cycles, thereby increasing the chances of feeling refreshed and ready to face the day. Still, if the motivation is not there to wake up at the suggested times, it is easy to reach forward again for that tempting snooze button. Studies show that “raising the stakes” is a motivational factor that can make early mornings easier. 

During our research through surveying and user interviews of young professionals ages 18-35, we have found the main pain point for those who struggle with sleep is motivation.

Additionally, we found  that most (73.1%) believe that the potential for rewards is a possible motivator for waking up on time. This research taught us that a rewards-based system may work as a motivator to learn better sleeping habits. 

Research Insights

Our research was a combination of survey responses (26) and user interviews (3) of men and women ages 18-35 who suffer from irregular sleep and issues waking up easily in the morning. The following are the 3 main pain points we found: 

Pain Point 1: 

• Unable to wake up at their set alarm times. 
• Supporting Data: 
• 60% of survey participants press snooze more than once. 
• 76% of surveyed users found that sleep did have an effect on their productivity 

Pain Point 2: 

• Feeling anxious and not productive in the mornings
• Supporting Data: 
• Most surveyed and interviewed responses showed that the main motivator for people to wake up revolves around anxious feelings.
• The majority (56%) of surveyed participants said they feel groggier after pressing the snooze button. 

Pain Point 3

• Inconsistent sleep due to insomnia 
• Supporting Data: 
• 72% of surveyed users did not have a consistent, day-to-day sleep schedule 

Landing on the Solution

Initially, we believed that the main issue was an inability to stop pressing the snooze button–think a snooze addiction, but what we found was the issue was motivation to wake up specifically for those with issues sleeping. Given these pain points, we worked on the following: 

• Setting personal Goals 
• Gaining points which would could be cashed into rewards
• Track you sleep habits and progress. 

Future Steps

Future steps include adding and a more detailed feature for smartwatch integration. As it is now, this product relies mainly on manual input to track and sync sleep data, but the option of using a smartwatch or Fitbit as will make for more precise data and a more customizable experience for users. 

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