Wake up happy with the sound of birds
The sounds of birds tweeting, a cockerel crowing and waves crashing leave us feeling more positive and more awake, according to new research.
The study, commissioned by Radox Shower Gel and carried out by sleep scientists, measured the effects that the sound of your wake up call can have on your psychological health and well-being.
The majority of participants preferred waking up to alternative calming sounds instead of the ring of a traditional alarm clock.
The research also found that, on average, Brits snooze for 14 minutes each morning and don't feel awake until 36 minutes after the alarm clock ring. However, 65 per cent of people are less likely to snooze when awoken to the natural alarm sounds uncovered in the research.
Dev Banerjee of The Sleep Clinic said, "This is the first study of its kind and sheds light on the effect different morning sounds have on our health and well-being. The first sound we hear in the morning has such an effect on our mood for the rest of the day, that's why we often feel down when woken up to ringing phones, pinging emails or the same monotonous alarm clock."
Further results found that nearly half of Brits 'hate' the sound of their alarm clock, with nearly one in ten admitting to having broken it in a morning rage.
The 'wake up happy' sounds, one for each day of the week, have been revealed as:
1. Birds tweeting
2. Cockerel crowing
3. Waves crashing
4. Wind Chimes
5. Piano playing
6. Orchestral symphony
7. Church bells
On average, we lose at least one hours sleep per night during December compared to the rest of the year due to worries about Christmas, staff parties and cold, dark mornings.
Nick Wilcher, Marketing Manager at Radox Shower Gel said, "Radox is known to help people come to life during the morning shower routine and we hope this unique study will help more Brits to jump out of bed and feel more positive and awake each morning even in the dark mornings of December."
Tagged in Health Sleep Sleeping Tips Happy